Home▸Everyday Physics▸Pottery Wheel Cross-Section (2D)

Pottery Wheel Cross-Section (2D)

Interactive 2D pottery wheel simulator: shape a clay cross-section with wheel speed and hand pressure, watch centrifugal flare, wall thinning and off-center wobble in real time.

Everyday Physics2DModerate60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 3D version
2d-3d-pottery-wheel ↗ Open standalone

This 2D simulator slices a lump of clay open to show its cross-section while it spins on a wheel: raise the wheel speed and the unsupported rim slowly flares outward under centrifugal effect, while squeezing inward or pulling outward at a chosen working height reshapes the wall and — since the clay's volume stays constant — trades radius for height, thinning the wall as the piece grows taller or wider. Push too hard at too high a speed while the clay is off-center and a wobble builds up in the thin walls until the piece collapses, so the live height, wall-thickness and wobble readouts double as a guide to throwing it safely, the same balance a real potter learns by feel.

⚙ Under the hood

A 2D cross-section view of clay being centrifugally flared and hand-shaped on a spinning pottery wheel, with live height, wall-thickness and wobble/stability readouts.

Centrifugal ForceRotational MotionClay ShapingCross Section

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install

What did you find?

Add reproduction steps (optional)