Should you print Gridfinity yourself or buy it printed?

Here is the honest answer. If you own a 3D printer and love running it, print your own Gridfinity. It is free to download and fun to make. If you want an organized drawer this month without babysitting a printer, buy the parts printed. Most people underestimate the printing job by a lot.

We sell printed Gridfinity, so you know where we stand. But the numbers below come from makers who printed their own and shared what it really took.

What printing a full drawer really takes

Robert Cowan tracked every print in his shop overhaul. His averages: about 22 minutes of print time and about 13 grams of filament per grid square.

A drawer is more squares than you think.

That is nonstop, perfect printing on one machine. It does not count failures, and the creators report plenty: warped baseplates, clogged nozzles, bins that split at the layers because the filament was cheap. One maker burned through more than a full spool just on failed prints while dialing in settings.

It also does not count your time. Finding models, slicing, swapping spools, pulling prints, starting the next job. Cowan ran four printers for a month and a half to finish his cabinets. He called it way more work than he thought, and he is good at this.

What buying printed costs you

Money, mostly. Finished bins cost more than raw filament. You are paying for machine time, tuned settings, and parts that come out right.

What you get back:

• A full drawer kit in one box, sized to your drawer
• Bins that match, from spools that were dried and dialed in
• Baseplates planned so the grid fits your drawer wall to wall
• Zero failed prints, zero evenings lost to a clog

Everything we print is made in the USA. You measure the drawer in the kit planner, we build the kit.

The honest comparison

A middle path that works

Plenty of printer owners do both. They buy the boring parts and print the fun ones.

Baseplates are the classic example. They are big, flat, slow to print, and the most likely part to warp. They also never show, since bins cover them. Buying plates and printing your own special bins on top is a smart split.

The reverse works too. Print your plates if you enjoy it, then buy a bin assortment instead of running 50 small jobs.

FAQ

Is it legal to sell printed Gridfinity?
Yes. Zack Freedman released Gridfinity under the MIT license, which allows commercial use. That was his choice, and it is why a whole ecosystem exists. We credit him because he earned it.

Will bought bins fit bins I print myself?
Yes. Everything built to the Gridfinity spec fits together. Mix freely.

What filament should Gridfinity be printed in?
PLA is the common choice and works fine in drawers. PETG holds up better to drops and shop abuse, which is why makers like Clough42 prefer it for tool trays. Our PLA vs PETG guide has the full picture.

My printer is small. Can I still do big drawers?
Yes. Baseplates come as tiles that sit side by side, and long trays can be split at grid lines. The grid holds the pieces in line.

Is printing my own really cheaper?
On raw cost, yes. Counting your time, usually no. A 99 square drawer is around 36 hours of machine time plus your attention. Decide what an evening is worth to you.

Watch more

• Robert Cowan, Top 7 Things I Learned Printing Gridfinity
• The Next Layer, Gridfinity Tips
• Zack Freedman, the original Gridfinity video
• Clough42, Gridfinity in the Machine Shop