Original Lightsaber by kat8090

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

This lightsaber was designed to be a fully functional saber, albeit slightly weak (as it is made of plastic and not metal). The completed model is fully functional in the sense that, once completed, a blade and electronics may be added if you so desire. This was designed and printed over the course of about two months, with many setbacks and trial runs to test the fit of the parts and solve problems related to fitting electronics and the blade.
All of the pieces have a flat side on which to print. Rotate to that side. For the inner cylinders (IC), change the settings to that the x or y-value is 28.5mm. Make sure as well that you print the cylinders standing up, with the slant being printed before the flat side (this prevents overhang).
There are many components to this lightsaber. Here, I will list the components and their function/positioning:
Inner cylinders (IC), which are used to house the electronics and provide a base to position the rest of the parts and to increase strength. There are two (to accommodate the MakerBot Replicator print bed size), and each is slightly longer than the total completed length of the lightsaber. This is to accommodate for any problems when bonding the cylinders together. I took off about an inch from the upper cylinder when I was finishing it. The inner cylinders are equipped with ledges for the positioning of an LED emitter (mine is an UltraSabers emitter, but a SaberForge emitter or another kind should work as well, as long as the outer diameter is one inch), and a battery holder. The battery holder size that the lower inner cylinder is designed to fit is a dual AAA battery holder. The flat side of the ledge should be used to hold the battery holder and emitter in place, and the slanted side for strength. If you are installing a switch (I used a SaberForge switch with no internal light), you will have to cut or melt a hole in the inner cylinder for the switch. Make sure to assemble the switch and electronics before combining the sections.
Piece 1 is the "blade emitter." This piece is the top piece. When finishing the lightsaber, you might want to drill a hole for a blade retention screw on the side opposite the tall side to help hold the blade in place when you swing it around.
Pieces 2, 3, 4, and 5 are all decorative/grip pieces. They are arranged in that order from top to bottom after piece 1.
Pieces 6 and 7 are the main body and grip of the saber, and there is space to place a switch. The switch ring and switch cover are used to set the switch into the body of the lightsaber for a closer fit. Place the switch ring around the switch base (I could simply screw on the ring to the switch), and plastic weld the switch ring to the main body and then add the switch cover to the top of the main body.
The end cap is used as an access area for the batteries and as as the pommel of the saber.