Make your own magnetic fidget slider
This guide was drafted with AI assistance.
A magnetic fidget slider is two identical plates held together bottom to bottom by magnets, with a textured insert on each outer face. The fidget slider generator designs all of it: you pick the surface, the size and the magnets. Print two plates and two inserts flat, no supports, then press in twelve magnets (the two plates the opposite way round) and the inserts.
How it works
Each plate is a rounded frame with a pocket on top. Under the pocket floor sit six magnets in three rows, covered by only 0.4 mm of plastic on the bottom side. Put two plates bottom to bottom and the magnets pull straight through that thin floor. Push one plate along the other and it lets go of one row and snaps onto the next: that snap is the click, and the three rows give you three positions.
The insert is a separate part pressed into the pocket over the magnets. It holds them in, it is what your thumb feels, and printed in a second colour it is what makes a slider look finished. Because it is separate, the texture can be anything without touching the magnets.
Which magnets
Round neodymium disc magnets. The default is 6 x 2 mm, the most common size there is: twelve for one slider. Bigger plates can take 8 or 10 mm magnets for a firmer click, and the generator moves the rows and the pocket to fit. The sidebar always says exactly how many and which size to buy.
Make one in 3 steps
Design it
Pick one of the eleven surfaces (slots, waffle, honeycomb, tyre tread, Japanese waves and more), press Random until a generated one catches your eye, or upload a texture: any picture becomes a height map, dark cut deep and light left high. Then set the width, length and the magnets you actually have, and pick the two colours.
Print two plates and two inserts
The 3MF has all four parts on one plate, already in two colours. The STL zip has one plate and one insert: print each twice. Everything prints flat, no supports. The plates go bottom side down, which is the face they slide on, so it comes out smooth off the bed. Give the inserts finer layers (0.12 to 0.16 mm) so the texture shows.
Assemble
Press the magnets into their holes as described above, check the two plates attract, then press an insert into each pocket over the magnets. It is a firm press fit with 0.15 mm of room a side; a drop of glue fixes a loose one. Put the plates together bottom to bottom and slide.
Which options matter
| Option | What it changes |
|---|---|
| Width / Length | The plate's size. The magnet rows and columns follow it, and the distance between the three click positions is shown in the sidebar. |
| Plate height | Thickness of one plate. Raised automatically when a thicker magnet needs the room. |
| Magnet diameter / thickness | The holes. Pick your magnet with the size chips, or type any size from 3 to 12 mm. |
| Magnet fit | Extra room on each hole's diameter. Raise it if the magnets will not go in. |
| Magnet cover | Plastic between the magnets and the sliding face. Thinner pulls harder. |
| Depth / Raised pattern | How deep the texture is cut, and whether the pattern is cut in or stands up. |
Troubleshooting
My two plates push each other away
The magnets in one plate are the wrong way round. Both plates are identical, so the magnets have to go in opposite ways in the two of them. Pull the insert out of one plate, flip its six magnets, and press the insert back in.
The magnets will not press into the holes
Every printer prints holes a little small. Raise Magnet fit under Advanced settings by 0.1 mm and print the plates again. For a hole that is only just too tight, pressing the magnet in with the flat of a screwdriver usually does it.
The slider feels weak or does not click
Either the magnets are too small for the plate or there is too much plastic between them. Use a bigger or thicker magnet, or lower Magnet cover towards 0.3 mm. Two layers is the minimum that stays closed on a 0.2 mm print.
Which filament should I use for a fidget slider?
PLA is fine and is what most sliders are printed in. PETG is a little tougher if it will live in a pocket. Two contrasting colours for the plates and the inserts make the texture stand out.
Can I print a fidget slider without magnets?
Not this one. The magnets are what hold the two plates together and what makes the click. Without them the plates just slide apart.
Made by meshcast.app. Got stuck? Email a photo and I'll help you debug.