I needed a rugged battery box that actually worked for my setup—but none of the existing Gridfinity models quite fit the bill. So I pieced together parts from different sources, made a few tweaks of my own, and ended up with a compact, magnet-secured 5x3 box that holds a ton of batteries and fits perfectly on a 256mm build plate.

This design standardizes on 8u height for secure stacking, uses no hardware, and includes magnet holes for extra stability. It took a fair bit of effort to get right, so I’m sharing it here to save you the trouble.

If your needs are a little different, you can easily customize the box and holders using the parametric tools and resources linked below. Gridfinity is flexible like that—and once you get the hang of it, it’s a great way to stay organized.

Gridfinity is a modular, open source, grid storage system that can be, and has been, adapted to many different applications. The sheer number of compatible 3D models is amazing. If you like to be organized, you really should learn about it. You can learn more about the specification here.

My goals were these:

• Standardize on 8u heights, so that when the lid closes it holds the batteries (in their individual holders) securely in place.
• Cram as many batteries into the available space as possible.
• No hardware.
• And of course, fit it on my 256mm by 256 mm build plate. 

Based upon these constraints all battery holders needed to have 8u height, or an even subdivision of 8u, so they could stack. 

For the coin cell batteries, I used 4u holders, so they easily stack up to 8u. 

Because the Gridfinity standard is open source and extensible, you can make a battery box as big or as small (or as tall) as your 3D printer can handle. After much deliberation, I settled on 5 units wide and 3 units deep. 

I relied upon Gridfinity Storage Box by Pred (now parametric) for my box. 

If you prefer a different size than 5x3, Pred includes several other sizes that are ready-to-print. If you want something that isn’t on Pred’s list, you can use his parametric tools to customize it for your needs. 

My 5x3 box is not one of the standard sizes that Pred provides. But I used his parametric tools to create it. 

Both the box and the battery holders in this project include holes for 6mm magnets. Using magnets was a big part of my strategy for holding everything together securely. Honestly, I found installing the magnets to be a pain. But I admit that the box is better with them. 

My collection of holders will hold 48 AA, 42 AAA, 20 CR2032, 10 CR2477 and 2 9v. But the great thing about Gridfinity is that it is modular. If you don't need as many AA batteries, you can eliminate one of the AA holders and devote the space to something you need more. 

Here are links to the models that I used for this project:

Box and Lid and handle and pins

Gridfinity Storage Box by Pred (now parametric)

Two part hinge

Two-part hinge for Pred's gridfinity storage box by Raaka

Beefier latch

Beefier Latch for Gridfinity Storage box by Pred by MakeItSlow

CR2032 and CR2477 holders

CRxxxx Button Cell Battery Holders (Gridfinity, Stackable, Labelled) by xavierly

AA and 9v holders

Definitive Collection of Battery Holders (Gridfinity, Stackable & Labelled) by xavierly

AAA holder

AAA Battery Holder with 8U Height - Gridfinity by thczv

This is a simple modification of Xavierly’s AAA holder. Xavierly’s holder was only 7u, which wouldn’t be secured by my lid. So I modified the model so it matches the AA holder at an 8u height. 

Xavierly deserves much credit for the many battery holder models that he has created and made available. In the likely circumstance that the collection of batteries that you want to store does not perfectly match the batteries I want to store, you can almost certainly find the holders you need by looking through Xavierly’s models. They are highly recommended. 

Everything necessary to create this box is included in the print profile. Any rigid filament should work.