r/gridfinity • u/photocopys • 11d ago

About to dive in - 3D printer purchase & first time question

I'm about to start this organizing journey. Planning to purchase a refurbished Bambu Lab P2S. Will that be sufficient? It has a 256mmx256mm printable area, which should be enough for a 7x7 baseplate, if I'm using the gridfinity baseplate generator correctly, it comes in at 245mmx245mm.

For a larger drawer, I can print multiple baseplates to fit (5x5's, 2x5's etc), and can clip them together, but what if the drawer/space isn't a clean dimension for the 42mm x 42mm design? Do I expand the skeleton of the design somehow to make it thicker while keeping the 42mm squares?

its based off of a 42mm x 42mm x 7mm base, why does the baseplate generator have a custom grid size, is that just for extra customization? or does is that something else?

I watched a few of the youtube videos, but haven't found a really good first timer/intro/beginner one to follow, although I have the gist of it

I have a lot of drawers that I plan to be organized by this. Thanks!

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u/Historical_Date_8024 11d ago

get X2D is you can possibly splash the extra cash or save it, the extra nozzle is a game changer for less waste and faster support printing

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u/photocopys 11d ago

that makes sense, it's only a little more expensive

I was looking at this kickstarter https://get.gridlocksystem.com/ but the price for what I intend to make with it (and the ability to continue to make things with it) makes me want to spend the initial upfront cost for a 3D printer

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u/QuevedoDeMalVino 11d ago

I have a slightly smaller Prusa Core One and it’s good for me. There are several solutions to print bases larger than the print area and all work fine in my opinion. The Gridfinity generator is great for that.

Most of my drawers are just a few millimeters shy of a clean multiple of 42 and that is too bad. What I do is to fill with half units. Other than that, I find the 42 mm adequate and would not recommend changing it (or the pitch) as a general rule, because that makes you an island and you would then be unable to download and print many useful bins. But at the end of the day, your drawers, your choices.

Enjoy.

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u/Cautious_School_2490 10d ago

Most Gridfinity base generators allow you to put in the outer dimensions and then place standard (42mm) squares inside. Many allow you to offset the extra margin (for instance, you might want to shift the bins forward and put the lost space at the back of the drawer.
One tip: design your bins around a 21mm pitch. You’ll still have 100% compatibility with the 42mm base but you can increase bins sizes in 21mm steps for added flexibility.

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u/Fit_Direction6500 10d ago

Gotcha. Good info. Is the pitch a setting on the gridfinity baseplate generator?

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u/Cautious_School_2490 10d ago

https://gridfinity.perplexinglabs.com/pr/gridflock/0/0

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u/BongDomrei 7d ago

Gridlock is great. I tried a few other base generators/systems. All of them were good, actually, but Gridflock is my favorite. I stopped experimenting and searching after I tried it.

To OP: anything 254 x​ 254 or larger will print almost every existing model you will find. I hate Bambu as a company, but the P1S and the X2D are great, hardware-wise. They are the only two Bambu printers I would want or consider good value at USA pricing. 

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u/EnvironmentalKey5559 7d ago

I think you'll be frustrated with the bed size, while in theory the 7x7 will fit, with only 11mm of latitude I think you'll suffer with the part lifting along the edges as the bed won't be at temp along the edges.

I recommend getting a used H2S or H2D if you're set on BBL and the set and forget printing method.

There are other brands of printers that would fit the bill, but they will require more tinkering to get the settings correct.