Gridfinity Dimensions
Every gridfinity build starts with three numbers: cells across X, cells along Y, and height in U units. The gridfinity dimensions calculator above turns those inputs into exact millimeters while you type — outer footprint, inner cavity, nominal height, height with the stacking lip, and the baseplate footprint the part will sit on. One toggle switches every result between mm and inches, so the same table serves your slicer and your tape measure.
The math behind gridfinity dimensions is short but unforgiving: cells pitch at 42 mm, the bin outline loses 0.5 mm exactly once for sliding clearance, and each U adds 7 mm of height with the 4.75 mm foot already inside. Change a cell count above and every derived value updates live, which makes this the fastest way to sanity-check a drawer plan before you commit filament to it.
How the gridfinity dimensions calculator works
The tool keeps its inputs deliberately small: width in X cells, depth in Y cells, and height in U units. From those three values it derives the full set of gridfinity dimensions — the 42 mm grid pitch everything is built on, the outer width and depth after the standard clearance, the nominal height, the total height once the 3.8 mm stacking lip is included, and the matching baseplate footprint, which carries the full 42 mm per cell with no subtraction at all.
- 1
Enter the grid size
Type width and depth in cells; the gridfinity dimensions panel converts them to millimeters as you type, so a 3-cell width reads 125.5 mm immediately.
- 2
Set the height in U
Choose U units, where 1U = 7 mm with the 4.75 mm foot included; both the nominal height and the height with lip update together.
- 3
Switch mm to inches
The unit toggle re-renders every gridfinity dimensions row in the other unit — 42 mm reads roughly 1.65 in — so printed charts and slicer fields always agree.
- 4
Continue in a generator
Verified gridfinity dimensions feed straight into the bin generator and baseplate generator, so the numbers you checked here become the model you print.
Gridfinity dimensions: 41.5 vs 42 explained
The most confusing pair of gridfinity dimensions is 41.5 mm and 42 mm, because both describe the same one-cell bin. The 42 mm figure is the pitch — the distance between neighboring cell centers on both axes. The 41.5 mm figure is what actually prints: the bin's outline subtracts 0.5 mm of clearance so parts slide into their sockets instead of jamming. Both numbers are correct gridfinity dimensions — they just answer different questions.
The subtraction happens once per outline, never per cell. A 1 × 1 bin measures 41.5 × 41.5 mm, a 2 × 3 bin measures 83.5 × 125.5 mm, and a 3-cell width is 125.5 mm — not 124.5, which is what you would get by shaving 0.5 mm off every cell. All gridfinity dimensions follow this single-subtraction rule, and baseplates flip it entirely: they keep the full pitch, so a 4 × 3 plate prints exactly 168 × 126 mm and neighboring plates tile without gaps.
The clearance rules behind gridfinity dimensions
- Pitch: cell centers sit 42 mm apart on both axes — the fundamental of all gridfinity dimensions.
- Bin outline: cells × 42 − 0.5 mm, subtracted once for the whole part.
- Height: U × 7 mm with the foot included; the stacking lip adds 3.8 mm — the tallest of the vertical gridfinity dimensions.
- Baseplate: cells × 42 mm at full pitch, 5 mm thick, with a 37.7 mm straight socket band.
Gridfinity dimensions for height: nominal vs with lip
Heights come in two flavors in the gridfinity dimensions table. Nominal height counts U units only: 2U is 14 mm, 4U reaches 28 mm, and 6U tops out at exactly 42 mm — the one height whose millimeters match the pitch. Height with lip adds the 3.8 mm stacking lip, so that same 6U bin stands 45.8 mm at its highest printed point, the number that matters under a closed drawer lid.
| Configuration | Footprint | Nominal height | With lip |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 × 1 bin, 2U | 41.5 × 41.5 mm | 14 mm | 17.8 mm |
| 2 × 2 bin, 3U | 83.5 × 83.5 mm | 21 mm | 24.8 mm |
| 2 × 3 bin, 4U | 83.5 × 125.5 mm | 28 mm | 31.8 mm |
| 6U bin | cells × 42 − 0.5 mm | 42 mm | 45.8 mm |
| 4 × 3 baseplate | 168 × 126 mm | 5 mm thick | — |
Reading every gridfinity dimensions output
Plan a drawer from gridfinity dimensions
Drawer planning is where gridfinity dimensions earn their keep. Measure the interior, divide each direction by 42 mm, and you know the grid that fits: the reference 296 × 522 mm ALEX drawer interior lands on a 7 × 12 plate with 0.5 mm margins to spare. Check the with-lip heights before choosing tall bins, then confirm the outer footprints here so nothing presses against the drawer walls.
Working from an inch-based tape measure changes nothing: flip the unit toggle, and the same gridfinity dimensions appear in inches, so you can compare drawer measurements and printed sizes in one consistent system without converting by hand.
From gridfinity dimensions to printed parts
Numbers on screen only count when a print matches them. Once the gridfinity dimensions look right, jump into the bin generator for walls, dividers and magnet pockets, or the baseplate generator for plates that split themselves to fit your print bed. Then print the gridfinity ruler and measure its ridges with calipers — it is the cheapest physical check that your machine reproduces the 42 mm pitch these tables assume.
These gridfinity dimensions describe ideal geometry. If a printed 1 × 1 part disagrees with the values shown here, the model is not the culprit — printer XY tolerance is. Print a single test part before filling a whole drawer.
Sources & references
“Gridfinity storage is built on a 42 mm square grid with 7 mm height units” — the community-maintained open specification this site implements and cross-checks against.
- Gridfinity community specification— the community-maintained geometry specification our models implement
- Gridfinity reference documentation— profile reference used to verify the foot, lip and socket dimensions
- Gridfinity Rebuilt (OpenSCAD)— open-source reference implementation we cross-check generated geometry against
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is a 1 × 1 bin 41.5 mm instead of 42 mm?
The 42 mm is the grid pitch; the printed bin subtracts 0.5 mm once for clearance, so one cell prints 41.5 mm wide. Every line of the gridfinity dimensions table follows that single-subtraction rule.
Do gridfinity dimensions include the stacking lip?
The calculator shows both gridfinity dimensions side by side. Nominal height counts only U units at 7 mm each, while height with lip adds 3.8 mm — so a 6U bin reads 42 mm nominal and 45.8 mm.
Can the gridfinity dimensions table show inches?
Yes. The unit toggle converts every gridfinity dimensions output — pitch, footprint, heights and plate size — between millimeters and inches live, so inch tape measures and mm slicer fields never mix you up.
Which gridfinity dimensions matter most for a drawer plan?
Start with plate footprint: interior measurement divided by 42 mm gives the cell count. Then check with-lip heights where a lid closes, and outer gridfinity dimensions for anything near the drawer walls.