3D Print your own LEGO Sorter

It’s been a while since we posted our original LEGO sorter, but we’ve been hard at work creating an optimised version. With an ever growing LEGO collection, this unit is much easier to store so we have extra room for even more LEGO. It also has a few nifty features including dual stackability.

Is it fully automatic?

Alas, one can but dream the dream. You still need to sort the LEGO bricks! This is just the first step of the process. By sorting into approximate size, the amount of variation your brain needs to process is vastly reduced. It’s vastly easier to sort through 30-50 shapes rather than say 500-700 shapes as you can see below.

If you were trying to sort pieces would it be easier to shuffle through the large white box in the middle, or the grey and blue sorter trays on the left and right?

After the initial shuffle, the next step is then to sort into individual types of LEGO. The Brick Architect has a great set of guides, but for the love of all things good, DON’T SORT BY COLOUR!

But it looks so pretty? Why not sort by colour?

In a similar manner to above, if you sort by colour, it’s really hard to pick out the specific brick you need. Whereas if you sort by shape, picking the right colour is no dramas at all.
Imagine you’re chasing a white 2 x 2 corner. Which option would be much easier to find it in?

Option A
Sorted by Colour

Option B

Sorted by Shape

Case closed, your Honour!

Doesn’t LEGO make a sorting head?

They do, and it’s pretty good. But for larger collections, the increased definition in our model helps speed up the sorting process. By having 5 sections instead of 3, it’s easier to seperate more parts. It’s also stackable when in use, and also reverse stackable (nested) when not in use allowing for a smaller footprint when storing away.

How long does it take?

This is heavily dependent on the speed and settings of your printer. We have a Prusa MK3s+. The estimated time and costs using the 0.3mm Rough Draft settings are shown below. The print cost assumes the filament you are using is $30 Aussie dollars per kilogram. We use eSun PETG from Shapenerd as it’s a great mix of quality and cost, but you can also use PLA or ABS if you like. If you’re in Western Australia, highly recommend the Shapenerd crew. Great people and very knowledgeable.

Update: Since the original post, we’ve revised the solution and removed all text bar a small note on the lid. We’ve also reduced the perimeter walls to 2mm which is still sufficient, but saves 13 hours print time. The updated files are available on our printables page.

Component	Print Time (2mm Perimeter – No Text)	Print Time (3mm Perimeter & Text)	Filament Cost
Tiny	6 hrs 34 mins	9 hrs 11 mins	$3.99
Very Small	7 hrs 19 mins	9 hrs 35 mins	$3.91
Small	7 hrs 9 mins	9 hrs 20 mins	$4.05
Medium	7 hrs 53 mins	10 hrs 11 mins	$4.77
Large	7 hrs 52 mins	10 hrs 44 mins	$4.80
Lid	5 hrs 29 mins	6 hrs 22 mins	$3.48
TOTALS	42 Hours, 16 mins	55 Hours, 23 mins	$25.00

Any special notes?

If you’re not going to use the pre-defined G-Codes, don’t forget to remove the supports for the text. They aren’t needed, but your slicer may try to add them anyway. It’s not critical if they do print, but will waste a little of your filament.

Awesome, where can I download the files?

Head on over to our printables page, to download the latest and greatest version.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD