3D Printed Spacers, Washers and Standoffs: What to Print and How

3D printed spacers, washers and standoffs are among the easiest useful prints: they take minutes, cost pennies and come out the exact size you need. They work best under compression loads, such as lifting furniture or holding a circuit board off a case. One Reddit user in r/functionalprint printed nine identical spacers to lift IKEA TV stand doors off the carpet, and said the plastic held fine because all the load pressed straight down.

Printed spacers and metal hardware usually work together. The Next Layer, a YouTube channel about functional prints, keeps M2 to M5 bolts with matching metal washers and nuts on hand for printed projects (The Next Layer, “Make USEFUL 3D Prints with THIS List of Hardware”). Below is what to print, how to size it, which filament to use and when metal is still the better choice.

Popular 3D Printed Spacers and Standoffs

Prices from Amazon at time of writing. I may earn a commission from links, at no cost to you.

How to Size a 3D Printed Spacer

• Hole: start at the screw diameter plus 0.2 to 0.4 mm for a slip fit, then adjust for your printer.
• Outer diameter: at least 2.5 times the hole, so the wall has some meat.
• Infill: print small spacers at 100% infill, or with four or more walls on larger ones.
• Batch print: put every spacer you need on one plate so they come out identical.

Why the clearance? Lost In Tech, a 3D printing YouTube channel, explains that a printed line is a squashed round bead, not a square edge, so parts swell slightly past their CAD size and a peg the same size as its hole won’t fit (Lost In Tech, “Why your 3d printed stuff doesn’t fit together and how to fix it!”). Filaments swell by different amounts; he singles out silk filament. His fix is a printable gauge with pegs at set clearances. A two-dot peg, for example, has 0.2 mm built in. Print it with the same filament, printer and speeds you plan to use, and you’ll know the clearance to design for. He also suggests the slicer setting that prints outer walls first (Cura calls it wall ordering) for parts that must be dimensionally accurate, as long as overhangs are supported.

3D Printed Standoffs for Electronics

Adafruit Industries, the electronics maker and retailer, shared standoff tips for printed enclosures (Adafruit Industries, “3D Printing Design Tips – Standoffs”):

• Prototype just the base with its standoffs before printing the whole enclosure, which saves time and filament while you revise.
• Size the mounting hole a little smaller than the screw, so a machine screw cuts its own threads the first time it goes in and stays put.
• Give a standoff with a mounting hole a wall at least 1.5 mm thick, so it holds up when you tighten the screw.
• Chamfer the outer edge of a hole about 45 degrees so the screw head sits flush instead of sticking up and scuffing other surfaces.

For standoffs you’ll take apart often, heat-set brass inserts give stronger threads. Geek Detour and My Tech Fun, a maker channel, recommends inserts made for 3D printing rather than injection molding, and sets a temperature-controlled soldering iron to 240°C (Geek Detour and My Tech Fun, “How to use Brass Inserts on 3D Prints”). His trick for a flush insert: press it slowly until the second ring of grooves starts to sink, pull the iron away, then flip the part and press the hot insert flat against a work surface.

3D Printed Washers vs Metal Washers

Printed washers are fine for spacing and filling gaps, but plastic creeps under a tight bolt, so the joint can loosen over time. For anything clamped tight, use a metal washer and print the spacer around it.

For more on filament choice, see PLA vs PETG for beginners.

Best Printers for 3D Printed Spacers

What Makers Found About 3D Printed Spacers and Washers

The Next Layer keeps M2 to M5 bolts, washers and nuts on hand because so many printed projects call for them (The Next Layer, “Make USEFUL 3D Prints with THIS List of Hardware”). On Reddit, the r/functionalprint user with scraping IKEA TV stand doors printed nine spacers for the screw-in feet and said they held because the load was all compression. Others in the same thread list chair spacers and standoffs among their most useful prints.

Video: The Next Layer, “Make USEFUL 3D Prints with THIS List of Hardware”. Embedded with credit.

Video: Adafruit Industries, “3D Printing Design Tips – Standoffs”.

3D Printed Spacers: Frequently Asked Questions

Are 3D printed spacers strong enough?

Under compression, yes. Plastic handles squeezing loads well. Avoid them in load-critical parts like bike steering.

Can I 3D print washers?

For spacing, yes. For clamping loads use metal washers, because plastic creeps.

What infill should 3D printed spacers use?

100% for small spacers, or four or more walls for larger ones.

How much clearance should a spacer hole have?

Start around 0.2 to 0.4 mm over the screw size. Lost In Tech suggests printing a test gauge with your exact filament and settings.

How thick should a 3D printed standoff be?

Adafruit recommends at least 1.5 mm of wall around a mounting hole.

PETG or PLA for spacers?

PETG for durability and heat; PLA for precise woodworking spacer blocks.

Sources

• The Next Layer, “Make USEFUL 3D Prints with THIS List of Hardware”
• Adafruit Industries, “3D Printing Design Tips – Standoffs”
• Lost In Tech, “Why your 3d printed stuff doesn’t fit together and how to fix it!”
• Geek Detour and My Tech Fun, “How to use Brass Inserts on 3D Prints”
• r/functionalprint: household hardware thread
• Amazon product listings for the printers linked above, October 16, 2026

Related: 3D Printed Threads, Nuts and Bolts | How to 3D Print Replacement Parts | Useful Things to 3D Print for Your Home | PLA vs PETG for Beginners