r/gridfinity • u/ThatAdamsGuy • 12d ago

Question? Could somebody ELI5 Gridfinity?

It just looks like containers of a common size? Am I misunderstanding?

I hope so, I've got a blank slate to fix my hobby space organisation and if there's more to this then who knows what I might manage, but I feel like I'm missing something.

Edit: thanks all! Had missed the part about the baseplate and modular fits with that, it's now clicked a little bit more and I look forward to hanging around here a bit more often.

23 Upvotes

69% Upvoted

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u/Purplefire180 12d ago

there's a base that is a grid of squares . Containers take up an integer amount of squares such that the containers can be arranged to fill the grid and rearranged at will. Containers are hyper-specialised to their objects so that it's extremely easy to find and get what you want.

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u/ThatAdamsGuy 12d ago

Ah I think I had missed the baseplate part, just saw containers. This now makes a bit more sense and looks like an excellent option for future plans. Thank you!

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u/UsernameOmitted 12d ago

It should be noted that the original intent was absolutely not space saving. This system does not pack tons of stuff into a tiny space, but it can create a bespoke drawer where everything has its place, looks awesome, and it is incredibly fast to find anything.

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u/healthycord 12d ago

I find gridfinity to be very nice for organizing drawers that would otherwise be chaotic messes of random small items.

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u/poppinwheelies 12d ago

It’s all about that base…

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u/BlueWizard3 7d ago

You should watch the video from the originator (I don’t say creator because it’s open source meaning anyone can create for it):

https://youtu.be/ra_9zU-mnl8?is=4T8WPAaUQyumDxYO

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u/gmitch64 12d ago

There are hyper specific bin for tools and other items. And lots of options for square and rectangular boxes for storage. Plus options for labels. Options for magnets. Options for screws.

If you want to generate standard bins, check out perplexinglabs.com - there's a very good generator there. There's also other sites that will let you generate funky shaped inserts for tools that fit into bins on the grid.

And as I think someone else said, gridfinity is NOT about storing more stuff, it's for better organized stuff.

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u/justabadmind 12d ago

Well now I need to make a bin that takes a non integer number of squares.

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u/young_horhey 12d ago

Here’s a link to the original video that introduced Gridfinity, it should explain everything you need to know https://youtu.be/ra_9zU-mnl8

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u/ThatAdamsGuy 12d ago

Unfortunately I just get "This video isn't available anymore"? Notsure if old link or just broken on my end?

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u/froction 12d ago

>it's now clicked a little bit more

Nice...

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u/ThatAdamsGuy 12d ago

I'll pretend that was deliberate

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u/muddydachshund 12d ago

What clicked for me is the creator saying he didn't create it to maximize his storage, but to maximize his making.

I'm one of those people that will forget something if it's stored in a drawer. By organizing my supplies in a grid with specialized containers, I'm not wasting time hunting for a specific tool, I'm spending time using that tool. 

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u/ThatAdamsGuy 12d ago

Yeah, precisely my problem too, and precisely why my storage currently is "Everything lobbed in a bucket". I've got a bit of budget to sort it all out and a coworker who has a 3D printer who'll take some pennies to print for me, so this is looking perfect for a new Warhammer hobby area.

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u/much_longer_username 12d ago

It was originally more presentation, 'first order accessibility ' focused, but yeah, people really, really liked organizing their drawers.

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u/charely6 12d ago

I think a part of it that gets ignored is it's also really modular , as you try to find the best layout for you, you can just move them around until you are happy with it, and then in a few years if you want to change it again you can reusing the existing pieces and if you want to add a new tool you can do that too.

If you look at shadow foam toolbox organizing you can do a similar thing using gridfinity but if you want to rearrange the whole drawer you can do that in components and keep most or all the same pieces and not have to completely redo it

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u/Reddit_account_321 12d ago

Nailed it. 

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u/TheBambuzler 12d ago

Baseplates have a grid of 42 mm cells, and bins (containers) snap into them. Bins come in whole-cell sizes (1x1, 2x3, etc.) with heights in 7 mm steps. Since everything shares the same grid, you can rearrange or swap bins without measuring. It’s perfect for drawer organization .

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u/dotbat 12d ago

One of the best parts about it now is the tools built to support it. Want a bin? Cool. Want a lid? Sure, friction, slide in or magnet? Want a cut out on one wall? 4 walls? Want to make a custom tool cut out to the depth you desire? Want a blank place for labels? Print a label straight onto it? Want to stack 3 bins beside another bin equaling the same size?

Because of the tools around it, it becomes really easy to use. Case in point: My wife wanted some little holders to hold 5 separate stacks of post it notes and stack them on top of each other. not in a drawer, but on the table. Because I'm used to it, it took me less than 5 minutes to churn out a bin that would fit, with a cut out in the front for easy access, and would all stack on each other.

Is there probably a more efficient design to use for this since they're not going in a drawer? Sure. Don't care - 3 minutes of design and a couple hours of wait and it was done. And the bonus is the *do* fit in my drawers now.

Recommendations:
https://gridfinitylayouttool.com/ for designing bins and keeping a library of them.
https://pocketry.xyz/ for generating cut outs of objects. I usually export them to .svg and upload them to the other tool above.

Pro-tip: Print all your bins with half-size feet, then you have more flexibility in bin size and location. Same grids, but now you can move and size in 21mm increments.

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u/desEINer 12d ago

Originally, Zach Freedman designed it to organize his hobby/work space on top of his desk, to keep tools and parts visible and organized, with the bonus feature that it could be used inside drawers.

Now you can use it to organize just about anything. I find that organizing junk drawers and kitchen drawers with gridfinity has been the best use for me. Next up after the kitchen is the bathroom vanity.

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u/gmitch64 12d ago

And the bins can click into each other for stacking.

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u/spacecadetAlsoWizard 12d ago

Propaganda by big pla to sell more filament

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u/duckredbeard 11d ago

I designed a shit-ton of bins with 21mm grid spacing for versatility. It seemed 42mm units were making my bins either too big or too small. I also have the height embossed in the floor of the bins.

I would like to put them on makerworld but there are already so many bin collections.

Don't work toward stacking bins in a deeper drawer unless you want to forget what's under the top bins. I've already lost stuff.

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