Anakin Skywalker Lightsaber Crystal Reveal, with lighting

This is a remix of UnimatrixRed's Lightsaber model, wherein I've added some basic LED lighting to the crystals.

I've also revised the clamp lever model to make it easier to print, and have altered the nameplate on the display base to be multicolor-friendly (by changing filaments/colors at specific layers).

I also didn't like how the original couldn't be taken apart if it should be necessary, so I've remedied that as well by making the core parts and sliders screw onto their end caps.  This way, you can put the core parts together, glue them into the pommel and upper chamber, then simply unscrew the parts as needed.

Both crystals can be lit, and there's room inside for a tiny PCB to hold whatever circuit drives the LEDs, and power is supplied by two AAA batteries in series.  The model's internals are sized for 5mm (T-1¾) LEDs, and the PCB rails will fit a 22x22 mm board (at most 2mm thick).  I've included a printable perfboard with standard 2.54 mm/0.1" hole spacing and 1mm hole diameter.  I used a single blue LED to light the lower crystal, driven by a rudimentary Joule thief circuit (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joule_thief).

The battery box is printed of course, but you'll need some thick, stranded wire (around 15 AWG) to create the battery box's upper terminals, some thin solid wire (around 19 AWG) to create the rudimentary switch that's buried in its side, and some copper or aluminum tape (or say, foil or more wire), to create the contact on the inside of the battery cover.  That “switch” is simply two wires that get pressed together by one of the upper slider pieces, and is in theory positioned to turn the power on only when the whole assembly is slid apart to its maximum length (so that it can be displayed in the open position but with the LEDs turned off).

Parts you will need:

• Print one each of all files labeled “FOR LEDS”, using them instead of the originals.
• Print two each of the “FOR LEDS” pommel slider pieces.
• Print two of the “FOR LEDS” crystal.
• Print the original upper chamber slider parts - one middle piece and two slider pieces.
• Print my three “FOR LEDS” upper chamber slider top endcap pieces to pair with those.
• Print all of the various original parts that make up the crystal chamber itself (that is, “internals upper chamber”, “internals lower chamber”, and everything in between).
• Print the original “inserts” for the “upper core”, along with the two long copper “teeth” that go on it.

Print settings:

0.2 mm layer height is sufficient for everything, though some of the crystal chamber's parts look better with 0.1 mm layers.  When printing the pommel lower endcaps, turn off thin wall mode in your slicer and make sure it's set to NOT allow overlapping perimeters, otherwise it'll distort the threads (there will be some tiny holes, but we don't care about that).

That said, you should probably use your highest-quality print settings to print the battery box cover.

All modified parts are printable without using your slicer's support material.  The battery box and pommel lower slider have their own small support objects built in.

Assembly instructions (sorta 😛):

• Assemble the Lightsaber shell's upper section and pommel section separately, per the photos here or on the original project's page.  It should be self-explanatory. 🙂
• Assemble the shell's midsection.  This isn't quite as self-explanatory, but if it helps:
  • hold the midsection with the bore facing you.  With the “activation plate” (that is, the block that sticks out) facing up, there are pairs of square divots adjacent to each side of it, one pair of which will have an oblong cut kinda between them.  That side should be on your left.
  • Install the clamp lever into the left side of the “activation plate” block, pointing the free end away from you.
  • Install the “circuit card” into the “activation plate”, putting the wide part of its “traces” on the left, adjacent to the clamp lever.
• Glue the midsection onto the pommel, taking care to align the “activation plate” block with one of the pommel block/hand grip pieces.

Turning our attention to the internals now:

• Build and wire-up the battery box as mentioned above (it should be pretty self-explanatory), and make sure the “switch” wires on the one side do their job properly when the slider on that side presses them together.  Remove the batteries before continuing.
• Give the four threaded/screw joints a good workout, screwing and unscrewing parts back and forth, tightening each joint down smartly, to break-in their threads.  This is plastic of course, so you don't want to be too hard on them, but we want to make sure they'll have a predictable stopping point in the future (i.e. next time you change the batteries), and their level of wear will affect that.
• After you're sure all four threaded joints are worn-in enough, build the battery box/sliders assembly, from endcap to endcap, and screw the two parts of the pommel slider bottom endcap together securely.
• Screw the lower core outer piece securely onto the battery box's top endcap.
• Now apply some glue to the bottom endcap and press the battery box/sliders assembly into the pommel, making sure to seat it fully.  Set the pommel aside and let the glue cure.
• Build the crystal chamber and affix the lower core inner piece to the bottom end of it.  You'll find a nice image with an exploded view of this assembly on the original project's page.
• Insert the lower core inner section (the copper part) into the outer section, which is still held inside the pommel. 
• Rotate the crystal chamber until its lower gold teeth align with the “activation plate" block on the pommel.  Give the internals a few shakes and twists back and forth, until you're sure that the crystal chamber will “settle” in the aligned position. Make sure both sets of threads (in the endcap, and lower core outer to battery box) are tight before you declare it as aligned.
• Taking care not to rotate anything, wrap some tape tightly around the top edge where the lower core's inner and outer parts meet, to lock them in place temporarily, then carefully unscrew and remove the internals assembly from the pommel, being careful not to upset the alignment.
• Unscrew the battery box from the lower core outer piece, and apply glue inside just above the threads, to secure the lower core's inner and outer pieces together.
• Let the glue cure thoroughly, then remove that tape and screw the internals assembly back into the pommel.  Double-check the crystal chamber alignment while you're at it.
• Build the upper chamber slider assembly, and screw it into the upper core tightly.  Screw the upper endcap piece onto the slider assembly as well.  Like the threaded joints in the lower section, you need these two joints to be as tight now as they'll tend to be in the future.

  Moment of truth!

• Apply glue to the upper endcap, taking care not to get any on the threads, and insert it into the upper section of the Lightsaber, but don't bottom it out yet.
• As you push the assembly together, rotate the upper section of the shell so that the “bunny ears” and red button are aligned with the two square divots next to the “activation plate”, on the side opposite the clamp lever.  If you're looking at the Lightsaber with the emitter peg pointed at you (which of course you'd never do if this were actually real 😛), that'll be 90° or ¼ turn clockwise.
• Once you have things in proper alignment, go ahead and bottom-out the internals' endcap into the upper shell and let the glue cure.
• Once that's done, unscrew things as needed, and install the batteries, LED(s), and LED driver circuit.

If you find that the internals' alignment drifts over time, you can correct it by adding strips of tape to one or both of the endcaps' faces, or perhaps by wrapping plumber's pipe tape around one or both of the endcaps' threads (but not on the cores' threads), depending on which end is misaligned.  Either method keeps the associated cap from threading-in all the way.

Update 2022-03-29:

I accidentally broke the two little decorative “cylinder” pieces while tinkering with something (the gold filament I use has mediocre layer bonding, and my print settings made the part especially fragile).  Normally replacing this part would mean rebuilding the entire crystal chamber, so I found another way:  I created a slightly shorter version of the cylinder along with a very tiny “spring washer”.  Print a washer, bend its teeth with needle nose pliers to make a bowl shape, drop it into the hole in the lower chamber piece, then insert the shortened cylinder and work it into place into the upper chamber.  Friction would probably be enough to keep it in place, but the washer should ensure it.