Klingon Bat'leth dual towel hanger

Today is a good day to dry!!

Upgrade your bathroom with superior Klingon technology. This 24th century design upgrades your single bathroom hook to the next level in aesthetic design and functionality. It is capable of hanging at least 2 large towels. With the extended range offered by the Bat'leth your towels can be spread out more than a single hook, greatly improving airflow.  

This was one of my first prints. Initially, it was designed for a towel hook in my bathroom. However, I wanted to make some more but I could not find the same type of hook, so I decided to just find a different style. I ended up settling on the Gatco lattitude 2 (link: https://www.amazon.com/Gatco-4295-Latitude-Single-Nickel/dp/B000GZA44Q/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2KB4QK19510EF&keywords=gatco%2Blatitude%2B2&qid=1691390695&sprefix=gatco%2Blattitude%2B2%2B%2Caps%2C156&sr=8-2&th=1) 

The Bat'leth by A_SKEWED_VIEW_3D was remixed for screw holes and I added replaceable grips so doing a multi-material print wont take as long. But you will need to glue the grips. 

If using Prusa slicer I recommend printing the Bat'leth with a layer height of 0.15 mm, infil 60 % or higher, print infill before exterior, and run at 80 % speed. I might also recommend printing with the classic slicer mode with gap fill off instead of the default Arachne. This is because the overhangs are quite extreme. Printing infill first helps keep the overhangs tidy. I think by running with the classic perimeter generator and no fill gaps will also reduce overhangs as it wont overcompensate to fill material in the Bat'leth. I have shared an image of the difference between infill first vs exterior first. Infill first is the set on the left. I also found printing both halves together helps. I think this is because the layers get more time to cool so less sagging. 

The main body of the mount was my design but I kept the shape of the communicator by BiancaW for aesthetics. I have added a multi-material print for the faceplate so you can add some color to the badge. 

For printing all the mounting parts ( Badge_faceplate, Mid_plate, Back_cut_with_Gatco_fixed), if printing in the same material, I recommend printing with elephant foot compensation off (if using PLA), 0.15 mm layer height, classic perimeter generator, no fill gaps, and in the advance setting set the perimeters to 0.3 mm. This is mostly because using the arachne and gap fill setting changed the way the screw holes were printed. This was problematic for the ones closest to the outside wall as it would leave a dimple on the surface. However, printing in classic perimeter generator, no fill gaps changes the path the extruder takes and removes this dimple. 

If printing the badge faceplate multi-material I recommend using the arachne setting as this seems to give better coverage if adding color to the inner parts of the badge. 

I have also included a file called Back_cut_without_gatco_mount_cut. This file is the mount without the cut made for the Gatco mount so you can remix this so you can fit it to a different mount. 

The file without the gatco mount cut can also be affixed to the wall with some Velcro adhesive tape so you don't need any extra equipment. I have not tested this for large towels, but tea towels work great. See the attached pictures of the Bat'leth mount in action in the kitchen. 

Make sure to glue the safety balls onto the Bat'leth. Use a good plastics glue. I have used this with quite some luck. 

https://www.amazon.com/Loctite-Plastics-Bonding-Activator-681925/dp/B000Y3LHXW/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2DCKJYLNQX5F2&keywords=loctite+plastics&qid=1691391356&sprefix=loctite+plastic%2Caps%2C154&sr=8-1

For the mounting the Bat'leth you will need some screws and nuts. 

4 X M3 x 0.5 mm Thread, 10 mm Long, Socket head screw

1 X M3 x 0.5 mm Thread, 14 mm Long, Socket head screw

3 X M3 x 0.5 mm Thread, 18 mm Long, Socket head screw

1 X M3 x 0.5 mm Thread, 12 mm Long, Cup-point set screw

4 X M3 x 0.5 mm Thread, Thin square nut

The thin square nut measures out as 5.5 mm Length/width and 1.8 mm Depth. 

Most of these are hopefully in your Prusa printer spares. 

One other thing I would add when printing this model is to make sure that the seam is running internally if possible on the the mount parts. For the Bat'leth it is best for the seam to run on the rear as opposed to the front, this helps to keep the sharp edges.