Napoleon Grill Knob

I have a Napoleon gas grill, which has been a great BBQ for me. The down side has been how fragile the knobs are. I had 3 of the 4 break in the first year, and used zip ties to hold the stem together, which worked for a couple of years just fine. Eventually the knobs just continued to break more. Instead of buying new ones for roughly $20 a piece, I designed a new one, and printed one out in some nice silver silk PLA. That was more than a year ago, and honestly it was not great. The fit was too tight, I couldn't remove it once installed. The PLA deformed over time from summer heat, and grill heat. Just a pain in the butt.

Jump ahead to this year when yet another knob broke when I was firing it up for the first time, and realized I needed to fix this finally. Attached here is the 4th revision, and what I have now replaced all 4 of the knobs on my grill with. It is about ⅔ of the height of the originals, and very functional.

Based on my experiences, print these in ASA or ABS. Do not print them in PLA or PETG. I mean, you can, but be prepared for them to deform over time, and not look or work as well.

I actually recommend printing them in black, then using white silicon sealant to fill in the flame logo on the top. It creates a highly visible accent, and indication of the knob position, and it looks good. The original knobs were a mix of grey, black, and silver. All black with the white highlight looks nice on the stainless steel of a Napoleon grill.

Print setting wise, I used:

0.6 nozzle.

0.2mm layer height.

20% gyroid infill, for standard infill go for 50%.

4 solid layers, top and bottom.

4 perimeters.

I recommend printing them face down, on a textured PEI sheet, just for the texture to hide the lines.