Flexigrid Fidget Toy

Flexigrid Fidget Toy

Boost
4229
8465
1988
GIF

Print Profile(36)

All
X1 Carbon
P1S
P1P
X1
X1E
A1
A1 mini
H2D

Circle - 7x7x30 mm - Single color
Circle - 7x7x30 mm - Single color
Designer
1.7 h
1 plate
4.7(210)

Huggable Heart
Huggable Heart
Designer
2.8 h
1 plate
4.4(20)

Small 5x5 grid in two colors
Small 5x5 grid in two colors
Designer
1.3 h
1 plate
4.5(295)

Pixel Art Heart
Pixel Art Heart
Designer
2.3 h
1 plate
4.6(56)
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Open in Bambu Studio
Boost
4229
8465
1988
991
15.5 k
11.2 k
Released

Description

Discover the Flexigrid, a versatile and engaging fidget toy. The Flexigrid consists of a grid of interlocked shapes, each capable of sliding vertically to adjust their height relative to their neighbors. This simple yet captivating design provides endless possibilities for customization and personalization.

Key Features

  • Shapes!: Customize your Flexigrid with different shapes. Choose from Rectangle 🟦, Heart ❤️, Circle 🟢, Diamond 🔸,  Cross ❌, and Checker 𖣯 for a unique fidgeting experience.
  • Customizable Grid Layout: Choose the number of rows and columns to create a Flexigrid that fits your preferences.
  • Adjustable Dimensions: Specify the width, depth, and height of each rectangular prism to match your desired look and feel.
  • Edge Rounding: Tailor the roundness of the edges for a smooth, comfortable experience.
  • Print Quality Settings: Fine-tune the tolerance, line width, and number of walls to achieve the perfect print quality for your Flexigrid.
  • Color Customization: Use the coloring tools in Bambu Studio to add a personal touch to your Flexigrid.

Whether you enjoy tinkering with different configurations or simply want a unique fidget toy, the Flexigrid offers a delightful combination of creativity and functionality. Download, print, and enjoy the Flexigrid, and share your creations!

NEW! Stripeshift Cube!This takes the traditional Flexigrid to a whole new level. Instead of printing in a cube shape and flexing after the fact, the Stripeshift Cube  is printed at an angle—diagonally! The result? Stripes that change direction when you flex it, creating a dynamic, eye-catching effect. It’s easy to print, fun to play with, and sure to impress. 

 

Printing Recommendations:  Be sure to start with a freshly cleaned print bed. Each Flexigrid is made of dozens of independent prisms and they all must stick to the bed in order for the model to be successfully printed. 

It prints fully assembled and there are no special slicer settings required. I’ve been printing the Flexigrid with a 0.4 mm nozzle and a layer height of 0.28 mm. This is about the maximum layer height you can use with a 0.4 mm nozzle, and I haven’t encountered any issues with this setup. But smaller layer sizes should give you better quality.

 

Pieces Sticking Together: In some cases, you may find some of the prisms are stuck together. Here are some things that could cause that issue:

 

1. Over-Extrusion

2. Print Speed and Temperature

  • Cause: Printing too slowly or at too high a temperature can cause the filament to ooze or spread more than desired.
  • Solution: Lower the print temperature and/or increase the print speed slightly to reduce oozing. 

3. Insufficient Cooling

  • Cause: Lack of adequate cooling can cause layers to remain soft and stick together.
  • Solution: Ensure the cooling fan is functioning correctly and increase the fan speed in your slicer settings. If you are printing in PLA on a enclosed printer, trying opening the door to increase the ventilation. 

Silk Filament: Silk PLA filament is generally too brittle for small features, so I don’t recommend it for fidget toys. It’s best to steer clear of filaments that emphasize aesthetics over mechanical durability.

 

Large Grids: If you try to create a grid larger than 15x15 with the customizer, it'll probably give up before it is done. The alternative is to download OpenSCAD to your computer and run it locally. Unfortunately it is a little involved. Here's a page to get you started. https://www.dr-lex.be/3d-printing/customizer.html

Updates

 June 13th, 2024 - Added  “Movement Range” customization. This lets you adjust the vertical movement between pieces, from minimal (50%) to maximum stretch (100%). Setting it around 50% will hide the slider slot that is between all of the pieces. 

 

June 15th, 2024 - Added custom shapes.  Choose from Rectangle, Heart, Circle, Diamond, and Cross. For the non-rectangle shapes, it will adjust the size to be an odd number of rows and columns so the shape is symetrical. 

 

June 20th, 2024 - Added a Checkered shape. 

 

July 12th, 2024 - Added a basic animal face shape. Can be used to create pixel colored animal faces. 

 

July 14th, 2024 - Added a Sleepy Cat print profile that uses the basic animal face shape. 

 

August 4th, 2024 - Added a Fidget Capsule print profile of 3x3 super fat “capsules”. 

 

September 10th, 2024 - Added a collection of Haunted Flexigrid fidgets. 

 

November 17th, 2024 - Added two new Flexigrids with a two-dimensional design, differing from the usual three-dimensional style. The first is a single row of five prisms, while the second features a single row of seven prisms. The seven-prism Flexigrid can extend to over half a meter.

 

December 29th, 2024 - Added two Snowflake Flexigrids. Both use the larger 8x8 mm prism size which allows them to be built from 3 walls for added strength. It was surprisingly hard to create a Flexigrid snowflake pattern that looked right because Flexigrids are created from squares with 4 sides and snowflakes have 6 sides. 

 

January 18th, 2025 - Added a Rainbow Heart Flexigrid. 

 

January 19th, 2025 - Added the Blushing Heart Flexigrid.

 

January 21st, 2025 - Added the Huggable Heart Flexigrid. This one is the first to feature a thicker center with tapered edges. 

 

January 30th, 2025 - Compass Rose Flexigrid is another one made with different height prisms. 

February 7th, 2025 - Large Panda Flexigrid 🐼 in black and white. 

 

February 22nd, 2025 - Added the Stripeshift Cube Flexigrid. 

 

March 18th, 2025 - More Space Invader Flexigrids. 

 

April 10th, 2025 - Decorated Easter Egg Flexigrid. 

 

Happy Printing!

 

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Comment & Rating (1988)

(0/5000)

I'm trying to use the openscad to get a 25 x25 grid and the model isn't updating for me edit: max I could get on the openscad browser was 16x16 still turned out very satisfying
(Edited)
The designer has replied
9
Reply
Thanks for alerting me. I just tried it and I was only able to do a 15x15 grid before the makerworld website gave up. They must be putting a limit on how long the script can run before it gives up. The alternative is to download the OpenSCAD application and download the Flexigrid script and run it locally on your computer. Here are some instructions on how to do that https://www.dr-lex.be/3d-printing/customizer.html
4
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That's great! Biggest one I've seen in the wild so far.
2
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you able to put the print profile up for that?
1
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Boosted
I don't say this lightly--this is the coolest fidget toy i've printed and one of the coolest objects in general.
The designer has replied
6
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Thanks!
2
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agree
1
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Boosted
Managed to make 25x25 flexigrid. OpenSCAD render time was about 1h 30min and printing time was 22 hours. Tried to make it look like Minecraft tiles.
The designer has replied
5
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That's amazing. It does look very Minecraft-like. I think you win the prize for the biggest one.
0
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Replying to @jetpad :
oh my god. you actually waited?!
0
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Print Profile
Wave 11x11x33 mm (2 color)
i dont even know what happened it is stuck
0
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Could you have printed PLA using a PETG setting?
0
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Replying to @jetpad :
no it was on pla settings
0
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Replying to @aidens4ever :
What brand and type of PLA is that? I've seen that happen with silk PLA because it's made to flow more.
0
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the openscat file dosnt work for me do you know how i can fix it
The designer has replied
1
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What happens when it doesn't work? Any error messages? Are you running it in the OpenSCAD app or in the browser at MakerWorld?
1
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Replying to @jetpad :
i am running it in openscat
(Edited)
0
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Replying to @florian2010bras :
Have you installed the BOSL2 library in your copy of OpenSCAD? You can get it from https://github.com/BelfrySCAD/BOSL2
1
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We printed an oversized one! 😍😎
The designer has replied
4
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That’s great! I hadn’t tried scaling one up.
0
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Nice!
0
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what software did you use to edit the stl?
0
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i love your videos
0
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very cool little fidget. Printed on a new P1S with Amolen gold/pink silk and Bambu black. It printed this whole extra object in parallel for some reason! it was about as far away on the plate as the first picture. Really weird. Two blocks on one corner are stuck at the sliding part too but that’s minor.
The designer has replied
2
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If you find some of the prisms are stuck together, try laying it flat on it's side and pressing down hard with your thumb or hand like this. Then turn it 90 degrees and do it again. It should separate them without damaging the grid.
1
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That extra thing is called a prime tower and will show up on some multicolored prints .
1
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Replying to @jetpad :
Thanks, I’d tried that to avail. Everything separated fine except just two prisms on one corner. They can actually wiggle apart a little on that side but just won’t slide no matter that I do, it’s like one sliding slot is obstructed on the inside somehow. I’ll get more aggressive on it when my kid gets bored with it ;) Still a great fidget!
0
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The Profiles are working well, but the moment i use it with the openSCAD , the crossings inside are hanging on the inner walls. Same if you download is as STL or 3MF, also making bigger stays the same.
The designer has replied
1
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Can you send me the settings for that (size, walls, height, line_width,  clearance, and roundness) ? I can do some tweaking to the code to account for it. Thanks.
(Edited)
0
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Replying to @jetpad :
All settings are standard. Just roundness was at 15
0
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Replying to @Kevyn3D :
Thanks. I've updated it. The smaller sized ones now can't have as much rounding on them.
0
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Print Profile
Cross - 7x7 - 56 mm - Two color
The bottom messed up a little, but otherwise this print is awesome.
1
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Print bed may have been a little bit dirty in that spot.
0
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Replying to @jetpad :
Yeah probably.
0
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License

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You shall not share, sub-license, sell, rent, host, transfer, or distribute in any way the digital or 3D printed versions of this object, nor any other derivative work of this object in its digital or physical format (including - but not limited to - remixes of this object, and hosting on other digital platforms). The objects may not be used without permission in any way whatsoever in which you charge money, or collect fees.