New Agorist Beer Company Challenges Designers to 3D Print Brewery Tap Handle

New Agorist Beer Company is a craft brewery based in Anaheim that values the creativity and artistry of beer making. It also values creativity in more than just its beer – it’s looking for some novel ingenuity in its tap handles, as well. New Agorist isn’t the first brewery to discover that 3D printing makes for some pretty good tap handles, and it likely won’t be the last, but it is enthusiastically encouraging the use of the technology with a new contest that challenges participants to design the brewery’s newest tap handle. The winning design will be 3D printed and used in all the restaurants, bars and other venues that feature the company’s beers.

New Agorist has teamed up with MatterHackers and Ultimaker for the competition, and submissions are being accepted today through July 18th. Designs must be 7″ to 9″ tall and 2″ to 3″ wide, and 8 mm in diameter with a 30 mm hole in the base for the hanger bolt. The design must consist of triangles and utilize the New Agorist logo in a three-dimensional way. It also needs to contain slots so that cards denoting different types of beer can be interchanged.

New Agorist’s original 3D printed tap handle being used at a MatterHackers Meetup

One entry will be accepted per person, and winners do not need to be present to win, but they must 3D print a physical copy of the handle and send a picture along with a digital design.

“(The competition is) a new and exciting extension of our vision for bringing brewing and technology together,” said New Agorist Co-Founder Alexander Meyer. “We see 3D printing as a tool that not only provides materials for our business in terms of equipment and functional parts, but as an artistic tool capable of producing objects that can be appreciated for their beauty and design. Our upcoming tasting room will feature 3D printed design elements to help bring that vision to life.”

MatterHackers’ Dave Gaylord and Alec Richter admiring New Agorist’s 3D printed tap handle.

This won’t be New Agorist’s first 3D printed tap handle; the company commissioned a 3D printed tap handle a few months ago, which you can take a look at as an example of the kind of design the brewery is looking for.

“3D printing removes design constraints sometimes presented by traditional manufacturing,” Mara Hitner, Director Of Business Development at MatterHackers, told 3DPrint.com. “There is a strong online community of designers who are using this freedom to push the limits of creativity. This competition will give one of those designers real-world exposure, and serve as another example of how desktop 3D printers can be used to make customized, finished, functional parts.”

The first place winner will receive an Ultimaker 2+ Extended 3D printer, while second place will receive a MatterHackers Pulse 3D printer and third place will win a $50 MatterHackers gift card. All winners will also receive an assortment of New Agorist merchandise.

“We are very excited to be partnering with New Agorist and Ultimaker on this design challenge,” said Rhonda Grandy, Senior Marketing Manager at MatterHackers. “Challenges that we have supported in the past, such as the ‘Envision the Future Design Challenge for the Blind’ have proven to be quite a success within the 3D printing community.”

More details about the contest and how to enter can be found here. Cheers!

New Agorist’s Alexander Meyer and Aaron Gonzalez with MatterHackers Director of Business Development Mara Hitner

Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below.