Category Archives: Level 4

Level 4 difficulty

Darth Vader Tap Handle

(NO SPOILERS HERE, DON’T WORRY!!)

In honor of the long awaited release of Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens I’m showcasing my Darth Vader Tap Handle.

 Difficulty: level_5

Due to the investment in a 3D printer and the amount of time it takes to get one dialed in and making parts, this one gets a high difficulty rating.

You also must posses some CAD design skills to generate the required files to send to the 3D printer.

Time Required:

This one was fairly easy, but printing time was about 6 hours total.

Affiliate Links

Required:

  • Existing tap handle
  • Tap handle topper (In my case the Darth Vader bust)
  • 1/4″ wooden dowel rod
    • About a 1 to 1.5″ length
  • Glue
    • Super glue is best
    • It works well with the ABS plastic and the wood
  • 3D printer

3D Printer

Ever since I first saw my first rapid prototyping machine in college and then to a greater extent, seeing that this technology was nearly affordable for a DIY person like me, I’ve had a child-like fascination with these awesome machines.  It may sound goofy, but I’ve got the same level of amazement that I did when my Dad bought our first computer in the early ’80s and I was able to type my name and have it appear on our television.

I got the Flashforge Creator and I am very happy with it.  It had the right balance of cost, dual-extruders, reliability, non-proprietary filament and has required me to do a little bit of tinkering that has allowed me to better understand the capabilities 3D printers.

Great Fermentations

Celebrate by brewing the Milleniale Falcon beer kit from Great Fermentations.  Today only (December 18th, 2015) is a special 38% off deal. No promo code needed for the deal; just add the kits to your cart and go! Click the link below to see the list of eligible light and dark side beer kits!

6_deal_days_day4_cat

Process

It is really simple, once you have your handle and the topper printed.  I just used a 1/4″ dowel rod to attach the topper to the tap handle.  Drill a 1/4″ pilot hole in the top of the tap handle.

023-Vader Dunkel Side 3DP Front

Text creation for tap handle

At the time, I couldn’t find a font that looked similar to the Star Wars font, nor could I find a font generator, but now there are a few out there.  Here is one for example:

Font Meme

Tap Handle Creation

Just follow my guide for Super Easy Tap Handles

Darth Vader Bust

If you have a 3D printer and want to print one yourself, go to Thingiverse to download the STL files and build your own.

Darth Vader Tap Handle Topper on Thingiverse

Don’t have a Thingiverse account?

If you don’t have a Thingiverse account or have no interest in creating one, you can download the CAD files by subscribing using the form below:
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

By clicking on the download, you agree to the terms of this license and to be added to the awesome fermware.com subscriber list. Don’t worry, you won’t receive a bunch of trub in your inbox.
[lab_subscriber_download_form download_id=26]

 

023-Vader Dunkel Side 3DP Side

Gallery of Customer 3D Printed Tap Handles

Here is my gallery of a small selection of customer tap handles that I have run so far.  It’s cool to see what personal touches they wanted and how they represent their brews.

Check the original 3D Printed Tap Handles thread for current info on purchasing a tap handle or getting the link to download files to print your own!

016-customer - GreatFermentations

 

This is actually my own Hipster Cream Ale tap handle I printed for our Strausstoberfest party.  In 2015, I used it on Mein Bierwagen.

016-Hipster Cream Ale Tap Handle

016-customer - Linkenbrau

016-customer - Kingslayer

016 - WBHY customer JB

016 - WBHY customer Asylum

016 - WBHY customer Blank

016 - WBHY customer Jose

016 - WBHY customer Hilt

Use the link below to purchase for $47 via PayPal.  Shipping to the US only at this price.  If you live outside the US, contact me through the contact link in the top menu bar of the site.

Buy Now Button

WBHY 3D Printed tap handle files available on Thingiverse

The 3D Printed tap handle files are available on Thingiverse!

Check the original 3D Printed Tap Handles thread for current info.

Want to build one?

Go to Thingiverse to download the STL files and build your own.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:542537

Don’t have a printer and want to buy one?

I’m offering a printing and assembly service for $47 (including free shipping) for those that don’t have a 3D printer and would like a tap handle.

Everyone should understand what cosmetic quality one should expect from a 3D printed part and the pictures on this post I feel, do a sufficient job of it.  I will not do any finishing work on the tap handles.  I feel that the as-printed look is part of the charm of these parts.

I can offer customized text.  It looks like approximately 18 characters would fit.  I would of course let you approve a rendering first.  I prefer not do logos, because I can’t guarantee it will come out ok, but I can try.  If you already have your logo in a DXF format or something else CAD friendly, that will help.  The text I’ve got on the tap handle now, is about the smallest I would want to go and have it look nice.

If you wanted a different color other than the green shown, please contact me first to see if it is available.

Lead time from the date of order could be up to three weeks.

Use the link below to purchase for $47 via PayPal.  Shipping to the US only at this price.  If you live outside the US, contact me through the contact link in the top menu bar of the site.

Buy Now Button