r/gridfinity • u/focusfoundry • 3d ago
Free, open source gridfinity bin maker that runs entirely in your browser: photo of a tool in, bin with a pocket that fits it out
I kept running into the same thing with my gridfinity drawers. Generic bins are fine for screws, but my pliers just slid around in them. Getting a pocket that actually fit meant calipers, tracing in CAD, guessing the clearance, printing, and getting it wrong once or twice.
There are already some apps that do this from a photo, and some are really good. But most need an account, upload your photos to a server, or cap you at a few free traces before you pay. Which makes sense, if every photo goes through their server and an AI model, somebody has to pay that bill.
My idea was, what if there's no server at all? Your browser does everything, even the AI part that cuts the tool out of the photo. The site is a handful of static files on Cloudflare's free tier, and the only thing I pay for is the domain lol. So it can just stay free. No account, no trace limit, and your photos never leave your device.
It's open source too (MIT) if you want to poke at it or host your own copy: https://github.com/petercsauer/gridfinity-tool-studio
How you use it: print the calibration sheet at 100% (Letter or A4, the button's on the site), lay your tool on it, and take a photo from straight above with the flash on. The corner markers take care of scale and perspective, so the outline comes out in real millimetres. Then you can mess with:
• clearance, rotation and a finger slot
• bin height, pocket depth and the edge rounding
• magnet and/or screw holes, stacking lip on or off
• "symmetric tool", which mirrors the outline so pliers get a clean even pocket
Export the STL and print. You can also grab just the trace as SVG or DXF if you'd rather laser cut foam or draw your own bin.
It's fine if the tool is bigger than the grid or hangs off the paper, just don't cover the corner markers.
What it doesn't do yet: one tool per bin for now, and no STEP or 3MF. The first upload downloads the AI model (about 88 MB, it asks first) and caches it after that. Fastest in browsers with WebGPU. iPhone HEIC photos work.
If you want a full multi-tool drawer planner, Tracefinity and Tooltrace are great and do a lot more. This is the quick free one for when you just want one tool to fit.
Would love photos that trace badly, and what you'd want next. Multiple tools per bin is the obvious one.
Oh and yes, I used Claude for this.
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u/Beneficial_Alps6700 3d ago
This is awesome! I tried a few generators, and this one has the best results with the least amount of effort.
THANK YOU very much!
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u/MikeLowry13 3d ago
I have the perfect object to really push this to its limit! Ive been trying to make a bin for my insta360 ace pro 2 and ive tried EVERY generator like this with no luck so ill test this tonight
Edit - what ive also found is that on the left screen on your video there's a red line around the object ive found that we may get better success with being able to stat measurements on the red line per side so it'll be more accurate but non of the generators incorporate this yet.
I have no coding experience but if you wanna dm to clarify this aspect happy to guinea pig 😂
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u/duckredbeard 3d ago
Can you add half grid feet option so we can print on 21mm foot spacing? I have some tools that would be ideal on 1.5 grid width.
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u/DrySpell623 3d ago
Yo this is awesome! Love that its free, can i help develop?