Fidget Slider 3D Print Guide: Best STL Files (2026)

Printing a fidget slider is the cheapest way to find out what you like before spending real money on a metal one. JordanK, who remixed one of the designs below, says as much: he'd been "eyeing some of the high end fidget sliders ... machined from exotic metals" and, "given the high cost," printed one first (Printables). This guide covers where to get the files, how to fit the magnets, and what a print can and can't do compared with a machined slider. Nearly every printable design is a magnetic slider; if you're curious about the mechanical kind, see our magnetic vs mechanical comparison.

3D printed vs machined: what actually differs

Cost. K&J Magnetics sells its D42 magnet, 6.35 × 3.17 mm and close to the common 6 × 3 mm size, at $0.41 each in small quantities (K&J). A 10-magnet slider is about $4 in magnets. Compare that with $69 for Kickup's Slider 3.0 [Ti] (Kickup) or $39.95 for the cheapest in-stock slider in Bruce Charles Designs' collection when we checked (Bruce Charles).

Heat. PLA's glass transition is 60 to 65 °C and Wikipedia notes it has "poor heat resistance unless annealed" (Polylactic acid). Don't leave a PLA slider anywhere hot. For cleaning, the dry cloth and soft brush routine in our cleaning guide works on prints too.

Feel. A print gets the click pattern right, which is most of the fun, but not the heft. If you know you want weight, a print will tell you which click layout you like and a metal slider will give you the mass.

Where to find fidget slider STL files

Printables has the most detailed listings we could check, with the designer's own notes on magnets and print settings. Here are seven worth starting with. Download counts and licenses are as shown on each page on 2026-09-28; licenses can change, so check the model page before you print for sale.

Two of these are especially useful for learning what you like:

• Ocelotzlasu's design comes in three magnet sizes and the designer describes the difference: 5 × 3 mm is a "very strong and loud click and hard to use with one hand," 5 × 2 mm is "nice and loud" but easy one-handed, and 5 × 1 mm is a "quieter click." Printing all three is a cheap lesson in magnet strength.
• EatTheWeek's grid holds up to 15 magnets per side so you can "experiment and find the best setup for your style," and an "Easy-Open" version has holes in the base so you can pop it apart to rearrange them.

MakerWorld and Thingiverse also host plenty of slider designs. Their model pages wouldn't load for us to verify details, so we haven't listed specific models from them. The same rules apply: read the magnet list and the license on the page.

What the licenses mean

Creative Commons licenses decide what you can do with the file (Creative Commons):

• CC BY: share, remix and build on it, including commercially, with attribution.
• CC BY-SA: same, but remixes "must be shared under the same terms."
• CC BY-NC: remix freely, but "for noncommercial purposes only." Don't sell prints.
• CC BY-NC-ND: share only "in unadapted form," noncommercially. No remixes, no sales.

If you want to sell printed sliders, only the CC BY and CC BY-SA models above allow it, and you still need to credit the designer.

Getting the magnets in

This is where most first prints go wrong. There are three methods, from easiest to cleanest.

1. Press-fit

MyNameIsHate's remix is built so "the pieces press fit together" with no glue. It depends on your printer's dimensional accuracy: too loose and magnets fall out, too tight and they won't go in.

2. Glue

Ocelotzlasu warns: "You'll probably need some glue for the magnets, as they like to jump out even if they sit snug in the hole." OldGreg3D's MagSlide also calls for "a small drop of CA glue if needed" (Printables). Luca Bartoli's base has extra holes in the magnet slots "to give the glue a bit more grip."

3. Pause and seal them inside

The cleanest result. You pause the print just before the layer that closes over the magnet pockets, drop the magnets in, and resume. Teque5's Lucky Clover pauses at 2.6 mm, and he says this means "no gluing or pressing magnets into place anymore."

How to set the pause:

• PrusaSlicer: in the slicing preview, drag the vertical layer slider to the layer and click the (+) icon to add a color change, which pauses the print (Prusa). Prusa warns that people "often tend to set the change one layer above or below the desired point," so check the preview.
• Bambu Studio: in Preview, move the layer slider, right-click the layer and choose Add Pause (FettesPS).

Two cautions from those guides. Prusa: secure magnets "with a drop of superglue, otherwise, they may jump out and stick to metal parts of the printer." FettesPS: make sure strong magnets won't "get pulled into the metal nozzle as it passes by," which "may damage the machine," and that each magnet "sits below the next printed layer."

Polarity

Get this wrong and the halves repel instead of clicking. JordanK's instructions are the clearest: insert all magnets in the first part "in the same direction," and in the second part "in the direction that attracts them to the first print." His trick: keep the magnets "stuck together in a row and then use the stack to insert the magnets one at a time." OldGreg3D simply says: "Check polarity before gluing."

Print settings designers actually use

Only settings the designers published:

The recurring theme is the sliding face. JordanK credits "really good squish on my first layer" for "a very smooth and slippery surface," and Teque5 prefers a textured plate for the same reason. Since the bottom of each half is what slides, spend your effort on the first layer.

Safety: magnets and small hands

The CPSC warns that when high-powered magnets are swallowed, "they can attract to each other ... through internal body tissue," which can cause perforations, blockages and death (CPSC). A print whose magnets "like to jump out" is exactly the loose-magnet risk. Luca Bartoli's covered version seals the magnets in, but he adds that "the entire button is still small enough to be swallowed." Keep home-printed sliders away from young children.

Where echoPi fits

A print is a great way to learn which click layout you like, and it's also where you hit the limit: to change the clicks, you reprint or move magnets. echoPi, which we're developing, takes the other route, with 7 real clicks as a design target and programmable positions you change in the app. It's for ages 14 and up and isn't on sale yet; join the list if you want updates.