Add on

[cedricmas4vents-source]

Hi
i use layerling only since 3 days but I definetly love it. Tinkercad is dead for me
Just an idea but could you add a module to make gridfinity boxes and grid?
Thanks for your all job already done

[henmedia]

@cedricmas4vents-source, welcome, and thank you; good to hear that layerling works better for you than Tinkercad.

There is no Gridfinity module in layerling at the moment, no boxes and no baseplates. I have noted the idea.

If layerling is useful to you and you would like to support it, there is a small page for that: https://layerling.com/support.html

[foofoodog]

I would want to be able to toggle off these use case specific parts to reduce clutter in the parts picker. Sounds like it needs the "add on" as a complete feature.
Perhaps produce a parts package payload processor for parameterized pre-builts pending placement in the picker.

[henmedia]

@foofoodog, there is no add-on system in layerling: every shape is built into the app, and the shape library is one flat list, with no way yet to hide entries you do not use. Gridfinity would be one more entry in it, as @mlugo-apx describes, not a package that is loaded separately. What exists today is My shapes at the top of the library, for shapes you save yourself.

A switch to hide the shapes you never use is a fair point, and it matters more the longer the list gets. I have noted it.

[foofoodog]

Seems odd to hard bake gridfinity specifically into the app. What's next, Ikea Skadis? My point is a more generic system for community members to supply the parametric parts to plug in, if so desired, might be better. Then of course that becomes its own ecosystem, and that can get messy. Maybe manage those parts in another repo, I dunno.

[henmedia]

@foofoodog, that is a fair point, and a plugin system is a different and much larger thing than one more shape: it would run code from other people inside layerling, and keep it working, and I do not plan it. Gridfinity is a shape in the library because it is an open standard with a published specification, like threads and gears, so a bin fits baseplates made elsewhere. A product line of one company would not have that; I would look at each request on its own.

What works today without any change is sharing: My shapes can be saved as a ZIP or as .lyl files and loaded into another browser, so a collection of ready parts could be kept in a repository of its own. They are fixed sizes, not adjustable, but that part needs nothing from layerling.

[mlugo-apx]

@henmedia, I would like to build this, if you would take a PR for it.

It would be one new entry in the shape library, Gridfinity, and in its settings you choose Bin or Baseplate, the way the Thread shape lets you choose Rod, Screw, Nut or Tapped hole:

• Bin: size in grid units (42 mm each, for example 2 × 3), height in units of 7 mm, the stacking lip on or off, and optional magnet holes (6 × 2 mm) in the feet.
• Baseplate: size in grid units, with optional magnet holes.

The measurements would follow the published Gridfinity specification, so a bin fits baseplates printed from other designs. Dividers and labels would stay out of the first version; a bin can be split with the tools that are already there.

If you would rather build it yourself, or want it to work differently, tell me and I will leave it.

[henmedia]

@mlugo-apx, yes please, a pull request is welcome, and thank you. One Gridfinity entry with Bin or Baseplate chosen in its settings, like the Thread shape, is the right way, and following the published specification so that bins fit baseplates from other designs matters most. Please write the geometry from the specification yourself and do not copy files or code from other Gridfinity generators, as layerling is AGPL-3.0.

Like the Face tool, it should come complete: the guide chapter, the sentences in English and German, the line on the start page, the MCP action with the skill text, and tests. A bin has many faces, so if fillets and chamfers on it need the exact body, say so in the pull request and we will look at how far that has to go. Start from the current version, 1.80.0. Dividers and labels staying out of the first version is fine.

[mlugo-apx]

@henmedia, thank you. I will write it from the specification, start from the current version, and come back with the pull request.

[cedricmas4vents-source]

Ok, I see that peoples may be interrested in my idea. Love it
To follow
Thanks

[henmedia]

@cedricmas4vents-source, thank you for the idea. @mlugo-apx is working on it; when it is in a release, I will write here.

[cedricmas4vents-source]

So cool, love this new community

[henmedia]

@cedricmas4vents-source, Gridfinity is in 1.84.0: a new shape in the library with the types Bin and Baseplate, in whole grid units, with the stacking lip and holes for magnets. It was built by @mlugo-apx from the published specification. Reload the page to get it; the installed app needs a restart.

[cedricmas4vents-source]

So cooool
THanks a lot