From the Loftsmith Workshop

Gridfinity battery dispenser bin for AA, AAA, 18650, 21700

Gives your spare batteries a home on the shelf instead of rolling around a drawer. Cells sit in a sloped lane and come forward one at a time, with a scoop at the front to grab them. Change the lane count and ramp to suit the cell you stock.

1 part · 118 g · 84 × 168 × 55 mm

by Loftsmith Workshop

Teal Gridfinity bin with a sloped lane, raised side walls and a scooped front for taking out cells
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No adjustable sizes

Ask for the sizes you want to tweak, e.g. “make the width adjustable”.

Change it in the Studio

Parts

  • dispenser-bin · PLA · As modelled: Gridfinity feet down on the bed, scoop at the front. No supports (0.8% overhang at defaults).

    PLA because it is a stiff indoor organiser with no heat or flex needs. The ramp under the lane is solid and is printed with normal infill. At defaults it is 83.5 x 167.5 x 55.4 mm, about 120 g and 2 h 45 min at 2 walls / 15% infill.

Print settings

Layer height
0.2 mm (0.16 mm gives a smoother ramp)
Walls
2
Infill
15%
Supports
None
Notes
At defaults: about 120 g and 2 h 45 min with 2 walls and 15% infill. With 3 walls and 15% infill it is about 145 g and 3 h 20 min. Print feet down. The rail undersides are 45 degree chamfers and the funnel and scoop mouths are chamfered, so nothing needs support.

Hardware

  • 32 × 6 x 2 mm round magnets (optional) · Only with the Magnet holes toggle on. 4 per grid square, so 32 for the default 2 x 4 bin. Holes are 6.5 mm wide and 2.4 mm deep in the bottom of each foot; press-fit or use a drop of glue.

Assembly

  1. Print the bin feet down with no supports.
  2. Optional: press 6 x 2 mm magnets into the holes under each foot if you turned on Magnet holes.
  3. Drop the bin into a Gridfinity baseplate with the scoop facing you.
  4. Load cells one at a time into the funnel at the back, lying sideways. Each one rolls down under the rails and joins the queue.
  5. To take a cell, pinch the front one by its two ends using the finger wells and lift it out. The next cell rolls into the scoop.

Good to know

  • Checked in the Loftsmith engine only, not printed. Whether cells roll smoothly depends on the ramp's layer lines. The ramp check assumes a rolling resistance of 0.05. If cells stall, raise the Ramp angle slider toward 15 degrees.
  • Cell sizes are the nominal maximums: AA 14.5 x 50.5 mm, AAA 10.5 x 44.5 mm, 18650 18.6 x 65.5 mm, 21700 21.4 x 70.5 mm. Protected 18650 or 21700 cells with a built-in circuit board are usually several millimetres longer and will not fit, even at the 0.8 mm maximum end clearance.
  • Coin cells (CR2032) are not supported; they need a different, vertical-stack design.
  • Cells come out oldest first only if you load them through the back funnel. The rails keep them in one row, so the bin holds a fixed number: 10 AA at the default 2 x 4 size.
  • The bin height follows the ramp and is not always a whole Gridfinity height unit (the default is 56 mm, 8 units). There is no stacking lip on top.
  • The ramp is solid, so it uses more filament than a hollow Gridfinity bin of the same size. The largest settings need a 256 mm bed: 21700 with two lanes is 209.5 mm wide, and depth 5 is 209.5 mm long.
I printed this Remix

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