A simple but really flexible snowflake generator built in OpenSCAD. It creates a radial snowflake where you control the number of arms, arm thickness, branch count, tip style, and optional cutouts. It is designed to print flat without supports and it is ideal for making sets of matching snowflakes that still look slightly different by changing just a couple of values.

Great for

• Tree ornaments
• Gift tags and name tags
• Garland sets (print multiple sizes)
• Window decorations
• Table scatter, stocking fillers, and craft projects

How to customise in OpenSCAD

Open the .scad file and change the parameters at the top, then press F6 to render and export as STL.

Overall size and shape

• arms sets the number of snowflake arms (classic is 6, but 8 looks great too).
• flake_radius controls overall size.
• flake_thickness controls the print thickness.

Arm styling

• arm_w controls the arm thickness. Increase this for stronger prints.
• center_d controls the hub diameter. Larger makes it sturdier and more balanced.

Branching

• branch_count controls how many branch pairs are added to each arm.
• branch_len controls branch length.
• branch_w controls branch thickness.
• branch_angle controls the angle of branches off the arm.
• branch_start and branch_end control where along the arm the branches appear. Tightening the range makes the snowflake look more “clustered”.

Tip style

• tip_style can be round or point.
• tip_d affects round tips.
• tip_len affects pointed tips.

Cutouts

• cutout_style can be none, holes, or slots.
• cutout_count controls how many cutouts per arm.
• cutout_d controls hole size (holes mode).
• slot_len and slot_w control slots mode.
• cutout_start and cutout_end control where cutouts appear along the arm.

Best print settings

These settings aim for crisp branches and strong arms.

• Material: PLA (great detail) or PETG (tougher)
• Nozzle: 0.4 mm
• Layer height: 0.2 mm (0.16 mm for finer branch detail)
• Walls: 3
• Top and bottom layers: 4 to 5
• Infill: 0 to 10 percent
• Supports: none
• Brim: optional for very small, spindly versions

Tip: If you want delicate snowflakes, keep flake_thickness around 2.2 to 2.4 mm but increase arm_w and branch_w slightly so the slicer does not create wispy single-line features.