Hey, I'm Jonathan. Welcome to Keep Making, this channel is where I mess around, test stuff out, learn stuff, and then share it all with you. Whether it's 3D printing, 3D design, a bit of painting, a new bit of tech and anything in between.
I'll also be sharing some day-to-day thoughts, everyday user no-nonsense reviews, and even some of the nitty-gritty details of my projects you can see on my other channel "Maker Tales". So it’s all about exploring, learning, sharing, and having a bit of fun in the hopes of inspiring others. I look forward to seeing you around and Keep Making!
I was intrigued when I first came across this system. "Gridfinity Pro" I thought. I still think it looks great, don't get me wrong. But over the past few months each time I'd find my printers free and available for a few hours when I' would consider printing this, it felt like an ordeal. Honestly, they've become way too complicated. Now even more so. This is like a fun project in and of itself. Like building a basic Gundam kit except they're containers. However, for someone looking for organization to reduce clutter, I'm afraid this ain't it. I think this is best suited for a minimalist looking to add a bit of eyecandy to a dull setup. This isn't for people simply looking to tame their overflowing drawers and work stations. Will still keep an eye. Just giving you my feedback as a maker & tinkerer.
What's the point of this when weve already got gridfinity? This adds almost no benefit while being entirely incompatible with it. Not to mention its incredibly complicated for what it is, meanwhile GF has years of models for various things already.
For me, this is a massive upgrade over Gridfinity for some uses, especially if like me you are reconfiguring things a lot. With Gridfinity I'm reprinting an entire cube of some kind, with this I'm reprinting an insert and keeping the shell, and with the update in this video I can print even less. The other benefit of this system for me is being able to link different shells together with the rail parts. I'm working on printing shells/inserts for some of my gaming stuff. But, when I'm taking it with me to a game shop, I don't always need to take the same stuff every time. Instead of a static carrying case, I can have different shells for different items, then snap together what I need and have a modular case and have everything fit exactly right. All that being said, for some people this WON'T be better than Gridfinity, especially if they find it overly complicated. But other people with other use cases can get a lot of benefit from the modularity of this. I think it comes down to whether you're just making something to hold something and sitting it on a desk forever versus constantly reconfiguring and moving things around and swapping and changing things, because if you're the latter person, this makes a huge difference. If you're the former, then at best you might be saving some plastic from these tops, but otherwise it probably won't matter to you. And honestly I think that's the best part of 3D printing, because there's something for everyone and you can just pick and choose whatever works for you. There's ten thousand 3D printable designs for holding AA batteries, and I think that's great. Nobody needs to print all of them. If one of them doesn't seem useful to you, then there's plenty more.
Jonathan, LOVE the updates that you're coming out with. They're always informative and useful. QUESTION ... Can you bolt-lock a bracket in a standoff snap (single, double, quad)? I'm setting up a Multiboard wall to hold my filament spools using 8x8 tiles with 8x8 brackets which will support shelves. If I position the 8x8 bracket in the 8x8 tile as one normally would, the top and bottom threaded leg of the bracket will nest into a hole in the tile that has a standoff placed there. Can I bolt lock the top and bottom leg and still use the standoff? If not, what is the best solution? If the answer is "move the bracket so it doesn't nest into the standoff" then I'm ok with that but I thought I'd ask the creator before assuming the only answer is moving the bracket. One of the things I love most about the Multiverse you've created is how versatile it is and, with that in mind, my guess is that there is a way to do this already (or you'll come up with one) 🙂 Thanks in advance for your response!
It's not about fifth digit accuracy or parmetrization - every time I try to use Blender, the same problem pops up: it doesn't save solids suitable for a 3d printer. You load a simple cube, apply a texture (displace modifier or whatever), and there you go - fifty normals inside, a hundred intersect faces, zero faces, non-flat faces. Yes, my hands are crooked, yes, I can find every plane and rotate/correct/displace it. But honestly it's a diagnosis.
Click rims are too flimsy for anything other than a 1x. I tried the 2x2 and it wont keep the top from slipping down. This needs to be redesigned. I also agree with others that feel this is getting out of hand. Please focus all your attention on the documentation before introducing new parts.
The HCW I kinda get and the cross compat with with it and the screw one sure. I wish there was some way to have gotten solid gridfinity cross compat at least on the plates. If I missed that part and am wrong let me know, but it started out cool, but it feels..... bloaty and .... something... wishing the best though. Hope the library stuff on thangs gets more and more refined.
By desk panel do you mean a multiboard tile on the desk surface horizontally? If so you can add a panel or baseplate to the top to adapt for bin bottoms. I highly recommend checking out the community if you haven't!
@Keep Making, Is it possible to achieve what I share with you in the following video? orient a piece with 3 reference points, taking care of it in the same way with 3 reference points. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cf4wTqw-axM.html
Multiboard is too specific. It is overly complicated, needs too many parts just to get basic stuff done. You are engineering your project into a corner it will be hard to get out of at some point. Listen to the community. 1. Simplify. We need LESS parts, not MORE. Make parts multifunctional. 2. Improve documentation! It took me an afternoon to grok how the system is supposed to work. 3. Provide measurements for your parts. I had to import the grid into fusion, measure the grid and iterate until I found the right dimensions that fit my project. Just provide measurements clearly visible with the parts. 4. Reconsider how you monetize! Make the whole ecosystem open. Add a license that requires people to pay you a fee when they sell parts for this project. 5. Prioritize standardization. Work with the community and leverage its knowledge to your advantage. In short: simplify, standardize, iterate with community, license to monetize.
Let's see... I'm curious about a few of these aspects. We currently focus on making parts as multi-functional as possible, with most of the part count coming from size variants and special case parts we provide. The central elements are about as packed with interfaces and functionality as I could manage. What kinds of uses or modifications are you thinking of? As for measurements and documentation, our project is still in beta, with documentation coming after the initial wave of parts as designs have been confirmed and tested by the community. We do plan to expand documentation as parts are confirmed but we don't plan to focus on that until we confirm the designs further. I highly recommend checking out the community and discord if you haven't for more information!
If they'll make simplified parts, it would mean there will be even more parts (old plus new simplified ones). But you're right, they need to find a way for users to identify parts they need in an easy fashion, and the same goes for exploring what parts do what, plus there's old/new versions issue (again, it takes some effort to check what older parts are outdated). At this rate soon it will be easier just to launch some CAD and draw parts from scratch rather than dig through all the stuff they made (actually, for simpler things I'm doing that right now). And this is sad, because they've put a ton of hard work to design this system, and it looks excellent.
The biggest point is documentation. There simply isn't any decent documentation. Also there is only Cad sketcher support for Blender not even real CAD programs. Like Fusion, OpenSCAD or FreeCAD. The moneytization is strange as well instead of a single license it's monthy payments and hoping it gets better over time. I need to pay to get access to be able to help out being a beta tester (Cad Sketcher) seriously like WTF. absolutely nothing feels finalized yet they throw it in the open. Seriously think of something and stay with it. Seriously documentation and plugin support need to be WAY WAY better and not more more parts.
I chose Multiboard because despite the poor documentation the basic principles are obvious and the "weirder and weirder" elements can be ignored. Multibins - I won't even start there, because it looks like you took Gridfinity and decided it was too simple, you need to make it more complicated, and it would be good if everything took (even) longer to print and required a ton of material (filament).
The beginning of Multiboard was promising, at least in the enthusiastically told advertising words. But then it turned into a mess of thousands plus some subscription paid "new, unique, modular" overengineered parts. Modularity - Broadly speaking, modularity is the degree to which a system's components may be separated and recombined, often with the benefit of flexibility and variety in use - Wikipedia. In the case of Multiboard, flexibility is achieved with a mess of countless specific connectors, splitters... At times, it seems that Multiboard-specific month-long courses are necessary: "Multiboard and how to navigate in this mess". Thank God I realized it in time and wasted only a few kilograms of material ;) and only rarely followed with a smile the effort to solve the problem by creating five new problems to be solved with new "special, unique and immeasurably modular" parts... Good luck to the creator, but for fans, kilos of filament and a lot of patience.
I've gone down this rabbit hole as well. I've salvaged the use of all the drawer stuff I made at least. This is it on the head - so my warning to others is to actually think about what the heck your goal is. It's a fun engineering system to dabble in - like legos, but the practicality of figuring out *all the stuff* you need to print just to attach something to your wall is nuts with this now.
Nice work Jonathan! 👍 But why making a new channel? You can use the playlist and keep it all at the same channel and get more likes etc. A log of other youtubers have plenty of vids on there channel so I prefer you keep it all together. BR. Mogens
Yeah like...I think the feedback about the system being too confusing with all the parts and lack of documentation is valid accurate feedback. But when the comments are just "what's the point of this?" then...it's not going to be useful for everyone in the first place! A lot of people wonder what the point of Gridfinity or any other 3D printed storage is when they can just get a cheap tackle box and call it a day. Some people want very specific storage and some people don't care. Some people want extreme modularity and some peole don't want to think about it that hard. Options are always good to have. This system is for people who want a TON of options, but if you don't, then this system is maybe not for you, and that's fine. If you DO want to use this system and are finding it too confusing and complicated, then that's a problem to be solved, but if you look at it and think it's pointless, then...that's fine I think. Maybe just move on from it.
Seems very promising, I have so far just printed a few bits of different types to mess around and get a feel for it before I plan and build my storage wall. Love all the thought that is going into this project. A lot of parts of a lot of funtionality.
Thank you for making the shell inserts optional. You shouldn't need to print a box to put in your box, when it's only for a single purpose. Doing just the outer shell and snapping top plates into place with internal divider walls (such as the inner bins) is the best option, in my opinion. Now I can look at printing out some of the bins without feeling like it's wasting plastic if there's a need to change things around on my desk.
Amazing work, but I'd be all for simply making the tops fit directly into the shells without adapter rings and while this makes it not backwards compatible..... it simplify the whole product line so much. Either way, thank you for such amazing engineering.
We wanted to allow everyone to choose between inserts and direct rim mounting since we didn't find that either could fulfill all the benefits of the other. Rims are small, low material, and fast, but lack some features and can't support themselves at really large sizes. Meanwhile the inserts take up quite a bit more material and time. So we figured providing the top option where we can and the insert/rim option where we must would be a nice balance. Of course, you're free to remix how you see fit!
It's on a different base size (50x50mm vs gridfinity's 42x42mm) but there are a ton of community-made adaptors so you can attach gridfinity baseplates or bins to a Multiboard wall. Same goes for Honeycomb Storage Wall pieces.
What you are doing is great and I absolutely love everything about this project but I think you should really put some time into making kind of a catalogue of all the possible combinations and the parts required to get started etc.
It's definitely the weakest part at the moment (and I understand it's coming!). Unlike some I love that there are so many bits and parts and that I can make them do whatever it is that I need them to do, I've never complained about Legos having too many types of parts either. But the biggest issue right now is how often I can't figure out what parts I need for something. I can eventually figure it out, but a lot of people won't want to work that hard to get to that answer, you have to be very into the idea right now for it to be worth it. Still, it's early on, so we'll see what happens from here.
We've tried to avoid changing things were we can. Hopefully as we get further along in beta and have more time to focus on the documentation and tutorial resources it will become more approachable, but at the moment it's kinda just drinking from the water-hose for those who want to!
Tops use the same small catches as the labels when added to inserts or click rims. The shell lids do not click in at the moment, and instead use the pins to secure if needed. We do have other lid types in our list, but it might be a while!
We're hoping with the site updates we have in progress things should get a bit easier to manage, as a lot of the parts are really just niche options for situations we want to provide for, but don't really expect to occur regularly. At the moment it's kinda like we've just dumped a container of legos in front of everyone without any instructions, but we're going to work to add those instructions and limited sets for beginners as we go!
Yeah i just started getting into multiboard about a month ago, and immediately became a supporter.. but a month later and I am ready to cancel my subscription. Its way to complicated - primarily cause nothing has decent descriptions. All the files they post on Thangs have basically the same generic descriptions. And even in the supporters area, i presumed the info would be there.. Nope. I made the Multiboard wall, which is great and I am a big fan of that. But for all the organizing i started with multibin and multipoint and gave up and instead went with Gridfinity, simply because there is documentation for how it works. I can tell he is super excited to keep expanding, but imo you need to first build the foundation - and thats the documentation. How much remixing can possibly happen if no one can adopt the system? I just went and found some of these files here just launched in this video, and again zero useful information on what parts you will need to actually use it and lots it doesn’t seem like it even describes what it is for at all. I really hope the best for the project, and I can see they are working hard at expanding it. But it feels like they are missing the far more important aspects.
@@mdbourneI kind of feel the same way but the platform is so well designed I’m willing to wait for better documentation. Frankly, I’m pulling for these folks because they are passionate, they have an innovative design, and the platform has so much utility. Multiboard, perhaps limiting the product offering to simple functions/attachment types and then expanding to variations in those attachments will make it more approachable. Bless the Makers and their makes and hope they document the hell out of them.
@@mdbourne I understand the perspective, but ultimately the system is still very much in active beta. We are looking to add more detail and documentation, but only after we're sure parts will remain as they are. We've become fully confident in our board system, but we're still collecting data and feedback on the bin and point systems before locking things in permanently and creating more extensive documentation. Active beta definitely isn't for everyone though, so feel free to use the system for free (we're trying to put as little behind the paywalls as possible while maintaining enough funding to continue work). Once things are further along I hope you find it worth jumping back in!
Thank you SO much for getting the step files out for remixing. I've been struggling to properly match some of the bits and bobs of the new bins on my own solely through measurements.
Of course! I apologize for how long it took us to make sure everything was out! If you have any questions about their use, please ask on the community or discord and I'll be glad to help as best I can!
Absolutely amazing! So so so smart! Love everything to do with multiboard (paid member 😊) and love watching your videos! Don't know what you're better at... presenting or designing! Superb!
I'm sure it's unintentional, but this absolutely feels like as a home shopping ad from the 90s. 😂😂😂 Sell me a Slap Chop! All these new bins are great, though! I've been waiting on a less wasteful way to print them.
Awww thank you! It means a lot to us to have people enjoying our work! We do our best to future-proof and integrate as much as we can, and I'm glad it shows!
