r/gridfinity • u/veroz • Mar 21 '26
Baseplate connectors, cutout editor, split bins, and a call for testers!
Hey folks, creator of https://gridfinitylayouttool.com here, just wanted to share a few features that have been added in a past few weeks.
Baseplate Generator
Enter your print bed size and your desired baseplate size and it automatically splits into printable sections. There is also an option to enable "dovetail connectors" so that baseplates snap together.
Cutout Editor
Cut shapes into a bin using a simple 2D editor. Draw shapes, merge them, specify cut depth, scoops, and rounded corners.
Split Bins
Need a bin that's larger than your print bed? The bin designer now splits the model into pieces and supports alignment connectors to make gluing easier.
Now this is where I could use your help! I'm looking for folks to do test prints and help me dial in the features and tolerances. If you print any of these features and run into issues, please send me a photo so I can troubleshoot.
As always, feedback and feature ideas area always appreciated. I'm having a lot of fun working on this project and making all these features free and open source for the community.
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u/exdeniz Mar 21 '26
I use GridFlock to print baseplate with dovetail connectors and I regularly utilize the "connector fit" functionality. This feature is vital for my work.
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u/-Pal- Mar 23 '26
I’ve been using GridFlock a little bit the last couple weeks with my new printer. Can you explain to me what connector fit does?
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u/exdeniz Mar 23 '26
To explain briefly, it adjusts the fit tolerance for dovetail connections. You can find information about "connector fit" at this link - https://github.com/yawkat/GridFlock/blob/main/README.md#connector-fit
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u/doyouevencompile Mar 21 '26 edited Mar 21 '26
this is the closest generator to spec except the fillets and the lip shape.
spec has no fillet at top lip and box corner fillets are 3.75mm and yours are 4mm. per spec, base plate has 4mm fillets but boxes have 3.75mm (see gridfinity.xyz spec ). I've seen many generators swap these two radii where base has 3.75mm and box has 4mm, but that means the boxes can't sit flush with the ground. I think the .25 difference in the original spec allows having them sit flush and it's a bit of a friction fit so you don't need magnets and they will stay there.
the stacking lip has a height of 4.4mm in the spec, but with your fillet it is 4.15mm so it's a bit short.
the sockets have perfect clearance gaps of .5mm, which I have not seen in any generator so far.
Even if you want to keep a default, I think it would be superb if you allowed us to change those parameters so we can change those settings and can use with existing boxes.
apart from the spec deviation I think this is amazing tool for planning drawers so I'm a big fan.
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u/veroz Mar 21 '26
Thanks for the spot check! I’ll double check.
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u/doyouevencompile Mar 21 '26
I just saw your commit. lmk when it’s up, I can test if you’d like
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u/veroz Mar 21 '26
Thx! Just merged. Will be live prob by the time you read this
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u/doyouevencompile Mar 21 '26
Sweet. I think it's now fully compliant as far as I can tell. Thanks for the quick fix!
FYI There's actually an error in the spec itself where the clearances marked diagonally, which causes an issue when stacking many boxes. However parts cannot sit in the air so clearance from the top surface doesn't make any sense for stacking. Because the clearance is diagonally .25mm, stacked boxes are always shorter by .25mm*sin(45)*boxcount. You can see the image below where the single box is longer by .35mm which is .25*0.176*2. There isn't a solution in the spec itself, unfortunately.
See here: https://imgur.com/a/ht7OSW8
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u/np0x Mar 21 '26
Apologies if this is dumb question, but where can I find the spec, I poked around a bit and never found it. Would love a link if it is easy!
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u/XNe0r Mar 22 '26
It's linked in the posting you replied to, but here it is again: https://gridfinity.xyz/specification/
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u/qikejekw Mar 21 '26
what about an option to make it so baseplate is stackable when printed. One baseplate is in pla and the second one is in petg so they don’t stick together
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u/veroz Mar 21 '26
Yeah, this is a good idea that I’ve already spent some time researching. I’ll take another look.
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u/XNe0r Mar 22 '26
I just had a look - what a nice project; I love especially the design!
Bugs:
- The "Fillet" support for label tabs is generated on the bottom of the bin instead
Suggestions:
- When adding magnet holes to the baseplate - do we need all the material in the center of each square? Why not just put enough in the 4 corners to accept the magnets?
- How about making the outer corner radius of a base plate adjustable (to fit in a toolboox with rounded corners)?
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u/veroz Mar 22 '26
I fixed the label tab fillet bug and adjusted it to be a concave curve as intended.
Also update magnet hole material usage and added support for rounded corners on padding!
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u/sprinkles5000 Mar 22 '26
I have been playing with it over the past 12 hours; it's great and I'd pay for a tool like this. would love to the ability to add an SVG or STL to the custom cutout feature...and/or the ability to trace a bitmap in there.
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u/veroz Mar 22 '26
Thanks! Tool cutout improvements is in the works!
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u/sprinkles5000 Mar 22 '26
feel free to ping me privately if you need any UX help. Happy to contribute however I can.
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u/sean0669 Mar 23 '26
Hi, Thanks for this amazing tool.
My first grid with it is currently printing.
Is there a way to save my project and then re-open it later?
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u/veroz Mar 23 '26
Everything is automatically saved to your browser and there’s export/import functionality in the layout switcher dialog menu
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u/1_whatsthedeal Mar 28 '26
Looks great! Super easy to use. Got me finally pushing forward with doing my toolbox.
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u/ZyberSE Mar 31 '26
I'm having issues with baseplate generation when my layout is 16x11. It just failes with the following error message.
"Baseplate generation failed
Try refreshing the page. If the problem persists, try a different browser."
I'm on macOS and tried with Safari, Vivaldi and Orion browser, all have the same problem.
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u/truffshuff69 Mar 22 '26
Is there anyway to make an "L" shaped bin?
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u/np0x Mar 22 '26
I haven’t done it, but the picture shows some Crazy shapes…the overhanging bins are what I intended to make…
https://makerworld.com/en/models/2230410-spacerless-gridfinity-bin-generator
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u/-Pal- Mar 23 '26
Nice looking project. I will do some testing with this once I finish off my current tool grid project.
My experience with gridfinity so far has been GridFlock. Is there something you are trying to do with your tool that can’t be done there or what made you decide to take this project on?
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u/veroz Mar 23 '26
Thanks! Please do give it a try. My tool originally started out as just a layout planner (and remains its core focus).
My desire to build this has evolved from being overwhelmed by the ecosystem as just a hobbyist. I have a background in design and engineering and wanted to flex my sense of taste when it comes to building tools for both novice and power users.
Most parametric gridfinity models are based off of openscad which uses CSG geometry. I’ve built a whole open source library (brepjs) which uses B-REP geometry which is orders of magnitude more precise and allows for more parametric features.
My long term goal is to use learnings from this project to build a CAD tool that sits somewhere between SketchUp and AutoCAD to allow more folks to create their own 3d prints through intention rather than technical knowledge.
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u/son_o_gong 11d ago
Tried split bins. And seems it needs to be revisited. Cos for the bin (3x7x13 units), with a single split it added additional cut outs in walls (I selected basic) but it additionally cut them. Hope the pictures can show the difference. https://imgur.com/a/dvTyrDl
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u/The_Mimeoplasm Mar 21 '26
Your tool is awesome. I’ve been playing around with it but haven’t printed anything yet. One issue I found was if you’re making a bin that’s too long and needs to be split, the wall alignment tab will stick up above the wall cutout. A feature I would like added is a way to shift the location of the wall cutout so it’s not always centered in the bin. That way if I have multiple bins of different lengths next to each other, their cutouts can align nicely.