3D-printed Lightsaber Design Philosophy and Printing Tips

[SandervG 1,155]

Hi All,

Jacky (aka Valcrow) made a very interesting write up about how he printed the light saber and why he also made one with 14 pieces! It has some very interesting tips and don't complain when you feel 'forced' to print another one!

For May the 4th, I designed a 3D printed lightsaber in commemoration of Star Wars day in collaboration with Ultimaker. There were many other designs out there, but none that I was really happy with. The examples I saw were mostly over simplified, impossible to print without supports, or difficult to assemble. I knew I wanted something more faithful to the original prop with better surface quality. So I set out to build my favorite design from the series.

Want to read more?

The entire blog is https://www.ultimaker.com/blogs/news/2014/07/02/3d-printed-lightsaber-design-philosophy

 

[Dim3nsioneer 447]

My UM Original is just printing the first of the 14 parts...

I plan to print everything in 0.06mm resolution and with Diamond Age PLA.

 

[DidierKlein 673]

The blog post is so cool i want to print one too :mrgreen:

 

[skint 61]

me too! seen the link on facebook last night! WooooVroooooo Vroooo Wooooo ok weird sound huh

 

[Dim3nsioneer 447]

The blog post is so cool i want to print one too :mrgreen:

 

 

me too! seen the link on facebook last night! WooooVroooooo Vroooo Wooooo ok weird sound huh

 

Who's the more foolish...the fool or the fool who follows him? :mrgreen:

 

[illuminarti 16]

Great write up, and fantastic looking print, Valcrow. Thanks for taking the time to share that with us.

[drayson 73]

Want one too - would perfectly fit to my Sith cloak... :-)

 

[Dim3nsioneer 447]

Want one too - would perfectly fit to my Sith cloak... :smile:

You're a philistine... this is Obi-Wan's lightsaber! Sith cloak...pfff.... :rolleyes:

btw: some little teaser (this is just the 4-piece-version)

 

[Nicolinux 285]

Now you've done it. I want one too!!!

But regarding the 4vs14 parts - isn't it pointless if you paint it anyway? Imho, this would mask small irregularities. Painting might be harder though (like Valcrow wrote), but the time you save with painting, you gain when printing.

 

[Dim3nsioneer 447]

The 14-piece-version makes sense. I had some serious issues with some details on the 4-piece-version which I expect not to pop up with the 14-piece-version as these details have been split into separate parts.

One really good thing I learned when printing the 4-piece-version was how to position the overhangs to get them as much cooling as possible on the UM2.

I will not paint it. My goal is to print it as good as possible without post processing. I would anyway be disappointed by my own handcraft as I'm certainly not as talented as other people here on the forum starting with Valcrow...

 

[drayson 73]

You're a philistine... this is Obi-Wan's lightsaber! Sith cloak...pfff.... :rolleyes:

 

hmmm... just for illustration - look at this :smile:

http://www.jiujitsu-kapfenberg.net/gallery/20140503%20NdK%20Turnau/p_HP_CE-7795.jpg

(yupp - that´s me :smile: )

Maybe somewhere is also a nice Anakin/Vader-Saber to find... Until this, I think I have to abuse this one... :-(

 

[Dim3nsioneer 447]

hmmm... just for illustration - look at this :smile:

http://www.jiujitsu-kapfenberg.net/gallery/20140503%20NdK%20Turnau/p_HP_CE-7795.jpg

(yupp - that´s me :smile: )

Maybe somewhere is also a nice Anakin/Vader-Saber to find... Until this, I think I have to abuse this one... :sad:

 

OK, Darth Drayson... :lol:

But: "You can't win. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

Maybe if you ask Valcrow very nicely? :cool:

 

[drayson 73]

:-)

Honestly... That was at a martial arts show this May and had nothing to do with star wars... Unfortunately...

Nevertheless, I like the light saber design so will start printing soon...

[Blizz 53]

It would be nice if there were some entries on how the post-processing was done as well. I'm getting the hang of the printing, but the cleaning up and other helpful techniques still elude me. It's pretty hard to find a decent source for those.

 

[davinci 0]

Hi there...!

@Dim3nsioneer: it is quiet well done!

what about your settings...? CURA? UM1 ?

- shells/ speed/ Temp/ retract/ cooling ... etc

... how did you fight with overhangs? ... (the little knobs there...)

 

You're a philistine... this is Obi-Wan's lightsaber! Sith cloak...pfff.... :rolleyes:

btw: some little teaser (this is just the 4-piece-version)

 

[Dim3nsioneer 447]

Of course Cura... must have been 14.06.

If I remember correctly the front piece was made on the UM1, the other parts on the UM2. Speed was 30mm/s @ 210°C, standard retract settings. I used three shells and 50% infill.

The overhangs were optimized by placing the parts in such a way that the overhangs see most efficient cooling by the fans.

 

[davinci 0]

thx!

 

[valcrow 144]

I just literally saw this post now! like half a month late!

But thanks everyone!

The 14-piece-version makes sense. I had some serious issues with some details on the 4-piece-version which I expect not to pop up with the 14-piece-version as these details have been split into separate parts.

One really good thing I learned when printing the 4-piece-version was how to position the overhangs to get them as much cooling as possible on the UM2.

I will not paint it. My goal is to print it as good as possible without post processing. I would anyway be disappointed by my own handcraft as I'm certainly not as talented as other people here on the forum starting with Valcrow...

Thanks. the 14 piece should be much better on the details, that's the whole reason for it. But only those that are very discerning with details will really notice...

It would be nice if there were some entries on how the post-processing was done as well. I'm getting the hang of the printing, but the cleaning up and other helpful techniques still elude me. It's pretty hard to find a decent source for those.

There will be! But there isn't actually any post processing in terms of smoothing the surface. Just painted directly on the printed pieces after partial assembly. It wasn't even that high of a resolution print, just 0.12-0.15 on the UMO.

 

[jdsteven 0]

I really liked the design philosophy explanations. Learning how to design models specifically for 3D printing is what I'm looking ahead to, now that I've got one on the way. Its always awesome to stand on the shoulders of someone with some experience as you start into your designs.

 

[valcrow 144]

Thank you kindly!

For those interested, I've just posted a fix for the switch and pin part that a lot of people have said they've had troubles printing. You can grab it here:

https://www.youmagine.com/designs/light-saber-pin-and-switch-revision

(the white part)

Also.. painting guide and video:

http://www.redicubricks.com/3d-printed-lightsaber-painting-tutorial/

 

[randyinla 10]

I printed the 14 piece version and love it! Did the axel and pinwheel in Colorfabb bronzefill and they look amazing! Threw the pieces into a rock polisher over night and they got really dark, almost black. I can now polish certain areas and bring back that lighter, bronze color.

it would be nice if the three-pronged connectors used between the top three sections were also used between the "clamp" and connecting pieces, rather than simply relying on the pressure of said clamp.

I've been trying to copy/paste that three-pronged connector to the other parts and can't find a good (and easy) modeling application to use! My 8 hours of Sketchup use are done and I'm not sure about spending $590 simply to get solid boolean operations. I can easily align the grenade handle and a donut cylinder in Sketchup, but can't access the 'subtract' solid option. I have 'subtract' available in 123D Design, but can't for the life of me get the two solids to line up perfectly to perform the subtraction!

 

[valcrow 144]

Thanks. bronzefill would look pretty cool! be sure to post some pictures!

The reason behind not having the 3 prong interconnect on the clamp part is so you can stick in the button piece (which allows a much better print on the buttons). The friction clamp should hold well though. Not as easy to assemble, but much better overall result.

If you want the 3prong clam, the 4 piece lightsaber uses 3prong for the whole thing.

If you have trouble with the pin part making the clamps stick, I've made a new one which is much easier to assemble/print. https://www.youmagine.com/designs/light-saber-pin-and-switch-revision