I recently realized that stainless steel spacer ring beads could serve as connectors for my tensegrities. I have mostly been using flat washers, but these beads have a smaller outer diameter (at the cost of being thicker).
I found an online retailer called PandaHall that sells many types of beads inexpensively. For around $21 USD I purchased 1000 such beads with dimensions 5 mm OD, 3mm ID, and a thickness of 2mm. Shown below are some pictures.
http://www.pandahall.com/p-1618596-304-stainless-steel-beads-ring-stainless-steel-color.html
I have had luck browsing for these types of beads by searching “304 Stainless Steel Beads, Ring” and optionally “hole: #.#” to specify sizing.
I had previously tried some beads I found on Amazon here, but those were smaller (1.3mm ID) and more suitable for construction with 4-strand braid fishing line. Smaller beads or washers are more difficult to work with, and if they are too small it becomes challenging to thread the fishing line through the hole (at least for the 16-strand line, it is difficult to pass a knotted end through the hole). These 2mm ID beads can feasibly be worked with with the 16-strand line.