This is the github for a project I made. It is called the NeoPixelSaber. My goal was to make a lightsaber using an arduino nano, and relativly cheap or even salvaged parts. Although I managed to do this, some parts easily broke, so I decided to print certain parts when I got a 3D-printer. The original however (the one showed in most of the pictures and that I will be giving the instructions for), is completly made from non-3D-printed parts.
- Powered by 4 AA NiMH2 batteries.
- 8 different colors, plus 3 "bonus" modes.
- Detachable blade
- Surprisingly sturdy (it can take quite a few beatings)
- Blaster effects
- Tipdrag effect (I think it is horrible though...)
- 1x Arduino Nano
- 1x momentary push-button
- 1x powerbutton from a Dolce Gusto capsule coffe maker
- 1x speaker from some toy or headset or something
- 1x On/Off switch
- 1x slide switch
- 2x 1m 144LED WS2812B Addressable LED-strip
- 1x Capacitor 1000 µF from a printer-powersupply
- 1x Capacitor 2200 µF from a printer-powersupply
- 2x 330Ω resistor
- 2x 10 000Ω resistor
- A 4pin plug from a printer-powersupply
- 1x 2x2 AA battery holder
- TP cable
- Bubblewrap
- 3x Schotch Tape Rolls
- 1x Milk Screw Cap
- Small 12x2cm acrylic plate I had lying around.
- 4x 1,2V rechargable AA-batteries
- 1m PP-tube 32mm
- 1m PP-tube 40mm
- 1x Sleeve for 32mm tubes
- Some random bike parts found in a trench
- Screews normally used in pc-cabinets
- Hobby popsicle-sticks
- Electrical Tape
- Soldering Iron
- Knife
- Circle Saw
- Sandpaper
- Paint and spray-paint
- Drill
- Hotglue-gun
This is only a brief explanation of how you can do it. This is because I want you to make your own neopixelsaber, not just copy mine. Be carefull, so that you don't damage any materials or equiment. I take no responsibility if you mess up. Make sure you know what you are doing. It is wise to read through the whole thing before beginning.
- First, you will want to prototype your project. I used a 24 pixel neopixel ring, some buttons and some LEDS. I recomend using an arduino UNO for prototyping, for easy connectivity, however that is only a personal preference.
- Then, you will want to write the code for it. Although you can go ahead and use my code, I strongly suggest that you try to write the code yourself. That way, you get a better understanding of how your lightsaber works, as well as the knowlegde of how the code works. It will also then be easier to add features to the code if you know how it functions. (in addition to that my code is terrible). No need to write the full code now, you can adjust it as you go.
- Time to design your lightsaber. Make drawings. Go for a walk in a hardware store. Be creative.
- Buy or otherwise acquire the materials you need. You can of course acquire the materials as you go too.
- Cut the PP-Tubes up into reasonable lengths. Using the 40mm tubes I went for 25cm for the main hilt, and 5cm for shroud. Then I used a 32mm sleeve, that I sanded down so it would fit inside the hilt and the shroud, to connect the two parts together. This sleeve would also serve as a holder for the blade. The blade (made of the 32mm tube) should be between 0,8M and 1M long.
- Make the electronics compartment. I used a 2x2 AA batteryholder as my starting point. I attached a plate to the back of the holder, to hold the Arduino and the electronics. I added a couple of empty scotch tape rolls to it to make it so that the electronics compartment would fit nicely inside the hilt. Test it inside the "hilt tube" to see if it fits. Remember, that everything you do from here on, must also be able to fit inside the tube.
- Plan where you want to place the arduino Nano, what wires you need to solder, what and how many buttons you want, and find out how you will want to go forward.
- Start soldering. Make sure you have enough length on each wire (better safe than sorry) and that the wires are drawn trough any holes or channels that you want them to go through.
- Remember to add a main powerswitch. I put mine inside of the bottom cap behind the speaker, but If you can find a better place for it, go ahead.
- Cut the strips to length. Glue the two strips together, back to back. Solder the connections to the plug. Add a 1000 µF capasitor between the + and -.
- Find a way to make the electronics part of the strip fit snuggly into the bottom of the blade. I used a small sleeve with electrical tape around. Make also sure that the "dark" electronics part of the blade is hidden when you put it into the hilt. Hotglue the end so that only the plug is accessible
- Find something to put on the other end of the blade. I used a pice of white PE-foam (you often find them protecting electronics like screens). However, this gave me a bit of a flat tip. Try to find something cone-shaped. Also, by sanding down the blade, you can allow more light through, which makes for a brighter blade. But, however, this may lead to a less smooth blade.
- Your blade is now more or less done.
- Place the buttons on the electronics compartment. Make sure that they are as close to flush with the inside of the hilt as possible.
- Find out where the buttons lines up. Drill holes for the buttons.
- Now make sure that everything fits together. The electronics inside the hilt, the blade inside the top of the hilt/the sleeve.
- Upload the code. Make sure to update any pin numbers or LED-strip lengths before uploading, in case you have prototyped with another board and/or LED-strip. Adjust the code as you see fit. Colors is very likely to need adjusting, as the white tube dissorts some of the colors quite a bit.
- Now comes the fun part: Decorating. There is really no right or wrong here. Just make sure that nothing of your decor comes in the way for the electronics or the button-holes. I would start with the paint, before adding other decor later.
- Your lightsaber is pretty much done. Congrats, young padawan. You have successfully constructed you very own lightsaber.
- Show it to all of your friends :D.
A: Short version: Because I ran into interupt-problems. I managed to get sound working later down the line, but only 8bit (basically just using the built-in tone() function with a speaker), but it was just too sharp, and really quiet. I ended up turning off the sound most of the time anyways because of this, and when I decided to 3d-print new parts, I left the speaker out. I would have liked to add better sound, with the sound files on a micro-sd card or something, but as of rigth now, this is out of the scope of this project.
A: A rough estimate is around 1500 Norwegian Kroners, which translates into around 140 American dollars (at time of writing).
A: I started in late December 2022, and finished around 17. May 2023. So, around 4 months. I still do tweaks to the code, and even add more features (like the sound effects, which I tried to add in September 2023), so you could say that I may never be quite done. But I am pretty happy with its current state.
A: The hardest part was probably the blade. Getting the strip, with the diffuser, into the blade without making it uneven, was really hard. I had to do it multiple times. And doing the electronics part of the blade was hard too, since I had to make sure that it wouldn't be to visible on the outside of the blade.
A: Only time will tell. I may upgrade the current saber with features (sound maybe?), but I really want to make a version 2 when I am more experienced and have access to more resources.
A: The Lightsaber went through lots of development, much of which never made it to the final version. I want people to be able to see how the project has evolved over time.
If you have any questions, need help with anything, or have suggestions, feel free to shoot me a message on Discord: @NotQfThisWorld