Project Lightsaber

Welcome to Project Lightsaber - my take on creating a lightsaber "construction kit". This is a bit different from some other similar projects in that this is based around the idea of using a piece of 1 inch PVC tubing as the superstructure for the saber. I found that taking this approach means the 3D printed pieces can be much thinner (less material, faster printing) and the PVC tube adds both strength and a nice weight to the finished piece.

All the pieces in this set (and I'll be adding more) either slip over the PVC like a sleeve or fit over the ends (e.g. the end cap and emitter bits).

The PVC tubing itself is very common - here in the USA it can be found at any hardware store. The "1 inch" designation refers to the inside diameter (~ 26mm) and an outside diameter of ~ 33.5mm (which is what my pieces are designed to fit over).

I've done my best to minimize the amount of supports needed but sometimes it can't avoided entirely; I find using the "tree support" option in Cura to work quite well when needed. Also, in order to help with this, there are some pieces (a couple of the emitters in particular) that print as two pieces that will snap together.

The idea of course is that you'll be able to mix-and-match whatever pieces you like in order to create your own lightsaber prop. A bit of clue and paint and I think you'll be quite satisfied with the result and especially the overall feel of it. I've found that about 8 inches of PVC is all you need for a single saber that combines a pommel, grip, switch and emitter. There are also pommel "caps" that can be glued onto the end of a pommel to further customize the look.

If you have any idea for additional bits, examples you'd like to see, or questions on how to bring it all together, just leave some comments. Also please share any of the sabers you create from this kit.

How I Designed This

All of these pieces are being created within TinkerCad.