How to Design a Honeycomb Pattern Coaster Set in Fusion for 3D Printing
Designing a honeycomb coaster set is one of those projects that looks complex but becomes surprisingly simple once you understand the logic behind it.
It’s a great exercise in parametric thinking, pattern control, and 3D print-ready design — all wrapped into a clean, functional result you can actually use.
Whether you’re practicing Fusion fundamentals or creating a product to sell, this workflow teaches you how to design smarter and print cleaner.
What You’ll Learn
This project builds on clean component setup, pattern control, and precision sketching to create a fully parametric coaster set that fits perfectly inside its holder — no guesswork, no sanding.
You’ll learn how to:
- Keep your designs organized with separate components
- Use the Polygon and Construction Line tools for precise pattern alignment
- Apply the Shell command to control wall thickness efficiently
- Build rectangular honeycomb patterns with perfect spacing and symmetry
- Link geometry between components for fully parametric updates
- Add small but critical fillets, chamfers, and clearances that improve print quality
Every step is optimized for Fusion and 3D printing, so your model looks great on screen and performs even better when printed.
Watch the Workflow — or Read It Step by Step
You can follow this guide in two ways:
- Read the steps below if you want quick written instructions, reference images, and modeling notes.
- Watch the full video at the end of this post to see the workflow in real time — including extra tips, camera angles, and shortcuts that don’t fit neatly into text.
Both formats build on each other.
Reading helps you understand why each step matters, while watching shows how to move faster in Fusion.
Step 1 — Start Clean with Components
Begin by creating a new component and naming it Honeycomb Coaster.
Using components from the start keeps your design clean and editable later.
When you work with parametric models, components isolate features and make it easier to adjust or replace individual parts — which is critical if you ever redesign the holder or resize the pattern.
Creating a new component named Honeycomb Coaster inside the Fusion Browser. Starting with a clean component ensures a fully parametric and organized design setup.
Step 2 — Sketch and Align the Base Shape
Reorient the ViewCube so you’re looking straight down, then create a 10-millimeter circumscribed polygon at the origin.
Add a 30-degree construction line — this might seem minor, but it defines the perfect alignment for the upcoming honeycomb pattern.
Construction lines in Fusion aren’t just guides; they’re anchors for precision and repeatability.
A 10 mm circumscribed polygon is sketched at the origin, aligned with a 30° construction line for pattern direction. Using a polygon ensures even honeycomb geometry and repeatable spacing.
Step 3 — Build the Coaster Body
Extrude the polygon 4 mm.
Then apply a Shell with a 1 mm wall thickness.
Shell is ideal here because it hollows out the body while keeping the outer geometry intact — saving print time and material.
Next, extrude the base upward 1.5 mm to thicken it. Shell can sometimes make the bottom too thin for durability, so this step balances strength and weight.
The polygon base is extruded 4 mm to form the starting solid. A controlled thickness creates stability for 3D printing and sets up the shelling process later.
Shelling the hexagon to a 1 mm wall thickness creates lightweight yet strong coaster walls. This technique reduces filament use while keeping the design rigid.
Adding a 1.5 mm thick bottom gives the coaster strength. The thin solid base improves surface finish and stability.
Step 4 — Define the Pattern Boundary
Sketch a 100 mm construction circle centered at the origin.
This defines the maximum area of your coaster and serves as a visual limit for the honeycomb pattern.
Having boundaries early helps avoid clipping issues and lets you pattern efficiently.
A construction circle of 100 mm defines the coaster’s outer boundary. This guide helps control pattern spread and keeps the honeycomb evenly distributed.
Step 5 — Create the Honeycomb Pattern
Here’s the time-saving part.
Use Rectangular Pattern and select your polygon as the object to repeat.
Pick the 30-degree construction line as your direction — this ensures the hexagons stay perfectly aligned like real honeycomb cells.
Set the distance to 19 mm.
Since your polygon radius is 10 mm (making the diameter 20), reducing by one millimeter creates a clean overlap that avoids gaps.
Make both directions Symmetric and use about eight instances — enough to fill the coaster even if you change the size later.
This keeps your design flexible and centered.
Pro tip: rotate the ViewCube to check your pattern from different angles before moving on.
Using the Rectangular Pattern tool to duplicate the hexagon body 8×8 with 19 mm spacing. Symmetric distribution creates a clean, uniform honeycomb layout.
Step 6 — Clean Up the Pattern
Hide the bodies that intersect your 100 mm guide circle — pressing V quickly toggles visibility.
Then use the Combine tool to merge the remaining hexagons into a single clean body.
Combining bodies reduces timeline clutter and keeps the file lightweight, which matters for rendering and exports later.
Unneeded bodies outside the 100 mm guide circle are hidden. Keeping only central hexagons ensures the honeycomb fits within the coaster boundary and looks balanced.
Selected hexagons within the guide circle are combined into one single body. Combining makes the honeycomb structure easy to edit and print as a unified object.
Step 7 — Create the Coaster Holder
Make a new component and name it Honeycomb Coaster Holder.
Creating it at the top level ensures it doesn’t nest inside the coaster component — keeping both independent for edits or printing separately.
A new component named Honeycomb Coaster Holder is created to design a matching stand. Separating components keeps each printable part editable and modular.
Start a new sketch and draw a center-diameter circle, 105 mm wide.
That’s your outer holder diameter, leaving a small clearance around the coaster stack.
A 105 mm diameter circle defines the outer edge of the coaster holder. Slightly larger than the coaster itself, this ensures a snug yet removable fit when printed.
Now extrude the walls:
- 16 mm upward
- 4 mm downward
Each coaster is 4 mm thick, so this height fits four coasters neatly.
The downward extrusion adds stability, acting as a built-in base plate for printing.
Extruding the 105 mm circle with a total thickness of 20 mm (split 16 mm up, 4 mm down). This forms a solid, balanced base that provides stability when stacking coasters.
Before moving on, save this version — I like naming it Before Projection so it’s clear where we can roll back later.
Saving a version labeled “before projection” to capture progress. Version control in Fusion helps revert to earlier stages if adjustments or parametric changes are needed later.
Step 8 — Link Geometry for Full Parametric Control
Create a new sketch on the top face of the holder and Project the coaster geometry.
Projection is powerful — it links geometry between components, so if you ever resize the coaster, the holder updates automatically.
That’s the beauty of parametric modeling: one change updates the entire design.
Projecting the honeycomb pattern onto the coaster holder’s surface. This ensures the upper holder wall aligns perfectly with the existing coaster geometry for a tight design fit.
Next, add two sketch lines on one side and trim away the excess.
This creates a small cutout — a functional detail that makes it easier to lift the coasters out later.
Drawing a 120° arc and guide lines for the open section of the holder. This opening makes it easier to grab and remove coasters while maintaining the circular form.
To speed up the design process, extra geometry is intentionally oversketched before trimming away the excess lines. This approach keeps the workflow fast and flexible while maintaining accurate constraints for the final cut.
Step 9 — Cut and Refine the Holder
Use Extrude Cut to remove the projected honeycomb shape up to the holder’s top.
By setting the cut to “Up to Object,” you keep the design parametric — if you change the holder’s height, the cut scales automatically.
Using the Extrude Cut tool to remove 16 mm of material and reveal the inner honeycomb shape. This creates the holder walls with an exact fit around the coasters.
Add a 1 mm fillet to the top edges for a smoother feel, and a 1 mm chamfer at the bottom for easier printing.
These small details make your 3D prints feel intentional and polished.
Adding a 1 mm fillet to all edges softens the design and prevents sharp corners. Fillets also improve print quality by reducing stress points along edges.
Adding a 1 mm chamfer to the holder’s base edge gives it a refined finish and helps the print adhere cleanly to the build plate.
Step 10 — Add Color and Material
Duplicate the Steel Satin appearance.
Set the coaster color to #ffc30b (honey yellow) and the holder to #4b2e05 (dark honey brown).
These colors fit the theme perfectly and give the render a warm, organic tone — ideal for presentation shots or online product listings.
Duplicating the default material color in Fusion’s Appearance panel to create a custom shade for the project. This method keeps the original style intact while allowing you to fine-tune colors for better visualization and branding consistency.
Entering a custom HTML color code directly in Fusion’s Color Picker to define precise shades. This gives full control over appearance settings, though you can also use the on-screen picker for a quicker, visual approach.
Applying the new brown appearance to the coaster holder for a realistic preview. Testing materials visually helps ensure the final 3D print will complement your coaster’s colors.
Step 11 — Ensure Smooth Fit for 3D Printing
Select the inside faces of the holder and Offset Face by −0.25 mm.
That small offset accounts for typical FDM 3D printing tolerances, ensuring your coasters slide in smoothly without being too loose.
Adding this clearance now prevents sanding or reprinting later.
Using the Offset Face tool with a -0.25 mm adjustment to add precise tolerances between the coaster and holder. This small gap compensates for printer variations, ensuring the parts fit smoothly without sanding.
Finally, use Rectangular Pattern to stack the coasters with 4 mm spacing between each — this helps verify that all coasters fit smoothly inside the holder before printing them individually.
Adding four coasters in a rectangular pattern with 4 mm spacing shows how neatly they fit inside the holder. This quick check confirms that the design allows easy stacking without collisions or excess gaps.
Result — Clean, Functional, and Fully Parametric
And that’s it.
A honeycomb coaster set that’s simple to print, easy to edit, and perfectly fitted to its holder.
If your prints come out clean and consistent, that’s not luck — that’s good parametric design.
Key Takeaways
- Start every project with components. It keeps your timeline organized and makes edits effortless.
- Use construction lines as alignment anchors. They guide patterns, symmetry, and precision in ways simple dimensions can’t.
- Parametric design saves time. When one change updates everything, you design faster and print smarter.
- Small clearances matter. Offsetting by just 0.25 mm can turn a tight fit into a perfect slide-in finish.
- Finishing details make the difference. A 1 mm fillet or chamfer can transform a sharp print into a smooth, professional design.
- Pattern tools aren’t just for looks. They’re powerful for creating repeatable, manufacturable geometry — especially in functional prints like coasters or grids.
These principles apply far beyond this project. Once you master them, you’ll see how every model in Fusion can be cleaner, lighter, and easier to print.
⏱ Chapters
00:15 – Create a New Component in Fusion for a Parametric Coaster Setup
00:30 – Sketch a 10 mm Circumscribed Polygon at the Origin
00:47 – Add a 30-Degree Construction Line to Align the Honeycomb Pattern
01:01 – Extrude the Polygon and Apply Shell to Create Thin, Even Walls
01:30 – Define the Honeycomb Coaster Boundary with a 100 mm Guide Circle
02:03 – Build a Honeycomb Pattern Fast Using Rectangular Pattern in Fusion
03:02 – Hide Unnecessary Bodies to Keep the Design Organized
03:24 – Combine Polygons into One Body for the Final Honeycomb Coaster
03:44 – Start a New Component for the Honeycomb Coaster Holder
03:58 – Sketch the 105 mm Base Circle for the Holder Geometry
04:33 – Create a Two-Sided Extrusion for the Coaster Holder Walls
05:02 – Save the Fusion Design with a Clear Version Description
05:14 – Use Sketch Project to Link and Update Honeycomb Geometry Automatically
05:53 – Define the Front Cutout Opening for the Coaster Holder
06:34 – Perform a Parametric Extrude Cut of the Honeycomb Pattern in the Holder
07:13 – Add Fillets and Chamfers to Improve Printability and Ergonomics
07:51 – Duplicate and Customize Materials with a Honeycomb Color Theme
08:40 – Add 3D-Printing Clearance Using the Offset Face Command
09:30 – Pattern and Place Additional Honeycomb Coasters with Even Spacing
09:59 – More Honeycomb Fusion Tutorials from The Maker Letters
You Might Also Like
If you enjoyed this Fusion tutorial, here are three more projects tailored for honeycomb patterns in other situations — each offering unique modeling approaches and printable design ideas.
Each tutorial explores a different use case for honeycomb geometry — from surface-based patterns to solid modeling applications — helping you choose the best technique for your next design.