Torus (ring) generator for Minecraft

How to use it

1. Enter the outer diameter of the whole ring.
2. Enter the thickness of the tube. It is also the height of the ring in layers.
3. Choose solid or hollow and look at the block count.
4. Build from the bottom layer up. The middle layers show the hole clearly.

How the torus is calculated

A torus has two sizes: the outer diameter D and the diameter of the tube T. The tube is a circle of radius r = T/2, and its centre runs around a bigger circle of radius R = D/2 - r. A block is placed when the distance from its centre to that big circle is at most r. In symbols, with ρ as the distance from the centre of the ring in the flat plane and y as the height above the middle of the tube, the block is placed when (ρ - R)² + y² ≤ r².

Hollow rings use the same shell rule as the sphere. A block stays when it has an empty neighbour on a face (hollow) or anywhere around it (thick hollow). The inner hole of the ring and the outside of the ring both count as empty space.

A worked example: a ring of 24 blocks

A ring with an outer diameter of 24 and a thickness of 6 has six layers. Solid, the layers hold 196, 308, 328, 328, 308 and 196 blocks, which makes 1,664 in total, or 26 stacks. The hole in the middle is 12 blocks wide. As a hollow shell the layers hold 196, 112, 100, 100, 112 and 196 blocks, so only 816 blocks are needed. That is a bit under half the solid cost, and the top and bottom layers stay filled because there is nothing above or below them.

For a smaller ring of 16 and a thickness of 4 the numbers are 504 blocks solid and 328 hollow.

Block counts for sample rings

Enter your own numbers in the tool to see the count for any other size. With a thin tube such as 4, the thick hollow shell is as heavy as the solid ring, because every block touches empty space somewhere.

Where a torus is useful

• Fountains and ponds. A flat ring with a thickness of 3 makes a round rim for a pool.
• Space stations and rings. A wide, thin torus with glass blocks in the shell looks like a habitat ring.
• Donuts and food art. A solid ring in tan with a thin layer of pink on top is a giant donut. Replace the top layers with a different block colour.
• Gateways. Build the ring flat, then use it as a template for the flat circle of a vertical portal.
• Decorative wreaths and halos. A hollow ring over a statue or a building entrance.

How to build it

Work layer by layer from the bottom. The first layer is a flat ring with no hole fill. As you go up, the ring widens and then narrows again. Because the tube is round, the inner and outer edges move in and out at the same time. The faint outline of the previous layer shows how far each edge has moved.

For big rings, mark the centre with a pole and measure the hole with a line of blocks along the ground. If the hole is the wrong width, the whole ring will be off, so check it once before you stack up the layers. If you are building in survival, build the outer edge first because it is easier to see and then fill in the inner edge.

Common mistakes

• Choosing a tube that is too thick. The thickness may not exceed about half of the diameter. Otherwise the hole closes and you have a rounded disc, not a ring.
• Mixing up diameter and radius. Both numbers are full widths in blocks.
• Forgetting that thickness sets the height. A thickness of 6 means six layers.
• Building the hollow version without a plan for the inside. A hollow ring is an empty tube. If you want to light it from the inside, plan the torches before you close the shell.

Related generators

A ring is a round tube bent into a circle. The circle generator gives you the flat outline of the outer edge. The sphere generator shows what a cross cut of the tube looks like, and the stack calculator converts the total into stacks.

Sources and notes

The shape rule is the standard definition of a torus in geometry. The 64 block stack size is described on the Minecraft Wiki (checked 25 October 2026). BlockShapes is not affiliated with Mojang or Microsoft.