Laser Cut Metal Beer Openers

I love beer, and designing stuff, but had this idea one day that the "R" in BEER could be used as a bottle opener if I shaped it right. I really wanted the word to look natural and act as a Keychain, but to also be functional. I used to produce and sell these designs, but have decided to stop making them and offer the files and story of how they came to be to you all.

This can be made out of several things, but I believe that to be most effective it should be made with Stainless Steel plate that is 0.1" thick or more. A hobby laser cutter will not be able to cut this. You'll need a strong enough laser (Fiber laser) that can cut through the metal cleanly and accurately.

If you don't use/modify my files, the way you can create your own shape is to grab a bottle of something with a cap and measure it. I used a micrometer and measured the height of the bottle cap and took a picture of it. When I went into my design software, I could scale up the picture to be actual height and then draw the linework to fit the notch of the "R" to go exactly under the lip of the bottle cap and then have the straight leg of the "R" to act as the leverage arm when opening the bottle.

At the time of the initial design, I was making 3d printed jewelry with a website called Shapeways.com. They also offered SLS Metal (Steel) 3d prints, so I thought this could be a perfect fit. I initially just designed the letters flat at 1/4" thick, but then the price to 3d print all that material was very high. I ended up reducing the thickness of the word to be about 3/32" thick and then added a top strip to strengthen the overall form, kind of like an I-Beam does. After a few tries, I got the shape to price ratio perfected and made a variety of words. The thickness of the word could be around 3/32", but at that thickness, the notch to open the bottle wasn't wide enough to pull the bottle cap edge up in one motion. I ended up flaring out the bottom of the R to be about 0.20" thick, which seamed to be about perfect. I created a variety of words, started selling some, and even got featured by the website as designer of the week. Although the design was initially selling well, the website began increasing their pricing time and time again, and I couldn't sell the product for the prices they wanted. I think now it would be around $30 or more to make it at cost, without even making a profit on top of that.

So after skyrocketing production costs, I wanted to make a simpler version that could be mass produced. The 3d printed steel also didn't fair well if it got wet, so i needed to change materials.

At first I tried laser cutting 1/4" thick acrylic, but that instantly broke. I then used 1/4" aluminum that I roughly cut out on the band saw to shape. It actually worked great for the first few times, but as time went on the steel bottle cap ended up scraping away the softer aluminum notch on the "R". I finally ended up on Stainless Steel Sheet, laser cut to shape. It would stand up to water over time and was tough for prolonged use. I knew the 1/4" thickness would work better, but a 1/4" thick piece of steel gets really heavy really fast. Having that in your pocket all day wasn't a good option. I ended up going down to 0.10" thick for the final version. It had enough width to the notch to pull up multiple sections of the cap at once and pull the bottle cap off in one pull. It was slightly heavy, but felt solid and not like a cheap item. After redesigning the shapes a little bit, I 3d printed the various letter shapes in one long bar so that I could test them all before sending a batch to the laser cutter. There's a picture of that above. Basically I wanted to use any letter I could to give me more options for words. I ended up using A, F, K, M, N, P, R, and maybe a few more. They all worked out, so it was off to production.

So I ended up doing a kickstarter and got my initial batch off the ground. I found a local metal shop that could cut them and finish them for me, then I packaged them all up and sent them off. I tried using a polished finish, but they quickly looked horrible with all the fingerprints after use. I ended up going with a brushed finish because it helps hide the fingerprints better. The openers were/are enjoyed by many, but my local area has shifted to mainly can beers and it's harder to sell them at a reasonable price with rising production costs. I have attached the files of the words I used in my last production run so that you can have them as reference. Feel free to remix the letters/shapes to create your own, or just draw it up as I noted above to create your own shape.

I have a limited amount of certain words available if you wanted one on my website. They are greatly marked down to get rid of the last of the stock I have, or you can make your own. Cheers! Go enjoy a pint, or beverage of your choice.

If you want to follow my latest endeavors, I started a YouTube Page where I'm going to show you how to make creative Lighting for your home. I'll also post them on Instructables if you want to follow me here.

Darose DIY - YouTube Link

www.StudioDarose.com