Gridfinity Refined by sdwilsh

There are two guiding principals for this variant of Gridfinity:

1. All magnets should be easily recoverable.  Magnets are much more expensive than plastic, and if they are stuck in the plastic, you cannot recycle the plastic either.

2. These are spec-compatible.  These baseplates should work with other bins, and these bins should work with other baseplates.

Magnets

These are all designed to use 6x2 magnets.  You can download the FreeCAD files and change the size of the magnet if you use something different.

Baseplate

Magnets are inserted from the bottom of the baseplate and slide towards the center.  If the bridge is done well, you can do this mostly with your finger.  However, you can use a small tool (I find a T6 works great) to assist to push into place.

You can see if a magnet is installed from the top of the baseplate through the small exposure hole.  To remove the magnet, you can use a tool to push it out (I find a T6 works great here, as well).

Bin

Magnets are inserted from the bottom of the bin and slid towards the corner of the bin.  If the bridge is done well, you can do this mostly with your finger.  However, you can use a small tool (I find a T6 works great) to assist to push into place.  To remove the magnet, you can use a tool to push it out from the access slot (I find a T6 works great here, as well).

Magnet Lock

The magnet lock can be inserted to help ensure the magnet does not slide out.  This works for both baseplates and bins.  These are very small, but quick to print.  I find printing these in PETG means they can be re-used, but PLA is single-use.

Non-Magnet Securing

You can use the original's M15x1.5 thumbscrew to secure your bins, or the M6 socket screw included here.  I find using a tool is easier than the thumb screw, and this version is designed to be printed in an orientation that will make the threads stronger.

Larger Baseplates

You can use the original's butterfly wedge lock to fasten multiple baseplates together.  This allows you to easily make any sized grid that you want and they will not shift around.

Printing

It should “just work” withing having to fiddle with slicer settings (although you certainly can!).  These have been tested in multiple slicers and printers with a 0.4 mm nozzle and .2 mm layer height.  If you aren't using those settings, you can download the provided FreeCAD files and adjust the first layer height and layer height to get optimizations for your settings.

I tend to print my baseplates in PLA with 10% lighting infill as they do not take much abuse from the bins, but I have tested that they work in PETG with otherwise default settings in the slicer as well.

I tend to print my bins in a mix of PLA or PETG depending on how much I expect them to move around (and their potentially to fall).  My go-to is 10% adaptive cubic infill, but I have tested that they work in PETG with otherwise default settings in the slicer as well.

Change History

2025-11-26

Initial Release.

All models were redrawn from scratch with FreeCAD.

Baseplate

• Improved magnet mechanism that slides securely into place from the bottom and can be pushed back out from the top instead of the press-fit holes of the original.
• Improved warp-reduction for larger baseplates.
• Optional M3 mounting holes between grids that do not interfere with the interface lips even when a screw is present.
• Fixes magnets being slightly out of spec from the original (by .25 mm from each edge).  In practice, this doesn't matter, but it should result in slightly better magnet attraction.
• Fixes interface lip being slightly out of spec.  The original used the dimensions for the bin's interface lip instead of that for the baseplate.
• These are .2 mm taller than the original, but that should not matter in practice if you choose to mix these baseplates with the original.

Bin Base

• Improved magnet mechanism that is serviceable for ever grid unit.  The magnets slide in and out from the bottom only.
• The FreeCAD file includes a custom brim on the corners once the size is greater than 2x2.  I find that I start to get minor amounts of warping at that point.

Bin Screw

• Instead of a thumbscrew, this provides a stronger, M6 socket printed screw that is backwards compatible with the original's thumbscrew.

Magnet Lock

• An optional magnet lock is provided that can press fit into the service hole and be removed by needle-nose pliers to help ensure the magnet does not come out.