Anakins father
New Member
Could you guys give me some tips on how to accurately model lightsabers in fusion 360 or make an accurate blueprint with the help of reference pictures?
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Lightsaber 3d modeling and blueprints
- Thread starter Anakins father
- Start date
You can find tutorials on youtube if you search for fusion360 lightsabers.
When I first started making models for 3D printing, I would start with a profile picture of the saber I wanted to make. The first ones I did were the "Clan" sabers. Once I determined the appropriate size, I scaled the image in Photoshop at 1:1. I then imported the file to Adobe Illustrator where I could trace the profile using the vector tools available in that program. If you have a fairly simple design, you can trace it, chop it in half along the vertex and export as a .DXF file. You then import the DXF into Fusion and use the "Revolve" tool to spin the design along the vertex making a 3D version of your tracing. That's a start anyways...
Ridire Firean
Sr Member
Hey Anakins father ! Welcome to TheRPF!
If you don't have any experience with Fusion360, I highly recommend watching all of Lars Christensen's Fusion 360 Tutorial for Absolute Beginners videos on YouTube...
If you're making a Chasis for a Lightsaber, get a set of Digital Calipers from Harbor Freight...
www.harborfreight.com
...they go on sale quite often and you can use a coupon to help make them even more affordable.
Measure EVERYTHING!
One quick cheat, if you're building a lightsaber with parts from TheCustomSaberShop.com is to use their MHS Builder...
forums.thecustomsabershop.com
Add in all your parts and line the end up on the middle of one of the gridline lines. The grid is 1" squares so if you line up your hilt on the center of one of those vertical gridlines you get a pretty accurate estimation of your hilt's length. I also put the Center-Line of the hilt on the center of one of the horizontal lines.
Now you can either Print Screen or Snipping Tool the image of your hilt (leaving a little border of the gridlines in your image) and import it into Illustrator, or better yet, Affinity Designer 2 (because Adobe can go Force themselves). Make certain your Document Setup Units are set to "Inches". Line up your image's grid to the grid in AD2 by resizing the image such that the center of the image's gridlines at both ends line up with the program's gridlines in those spots. Your image should now be pretty close to 1:1.
Go back to the MHS Builder and click on "Cutaway".
Print Screen or Snipping Tool the cutaway image of your hilt like you did the outside image, add it to your AD2 document, and line it up to the grid in the program.
Print your image. Now you can either write your measurements directly on your print or you can type them into your AD2 document and print the image with the dimensions already in place.
Please note that not all of TCSS' parts are included in the MHS Builder, and I've found parts that don't have accurate "Cutaway" images. So keep that in mind as you're measuring your parts.
You could use your images as ReelFakes suggests as a template to use the pen tool to draw out the hilt in its entirety if you so choose. I do this to create blueprints that I can print out and draw on the old fashioned way to add to the drawing. I think better with my trusty Pentel P203.
Then once I've settled the design, I go back into AD2 and add in the lines to the digital drawing.
Another option would be to make blueprints within Fusion360...
Once you've completed your Fusion360 model with your handy measurement cheat sheet, you can sign your model with EMBOSS! This is SO COOL!...
Here are a couple of Lightsaber specific Fusion 360 videos for you to check out if you need a little inspiration...
I hope this helps!
May The Fusion Be With You!
If you don't have any experience with Fusion360, I highly recommend watching all of Lars Christensen's Fusion 360 Tutorial for Absolute Beginners videos on YouTube...
If you're making a Chasis for a Lightsaber, get a set of Digital Calipers from Harbor Freight...
6 in. Digital Caliper with SAE and Metric Fractional Readings
Amazing deals on this 6In Digital Caliper Sae Metric Fractional at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
www.harborfreight.com
...they go on sale quite often and you can use a coupon to help make them even more affordable.
Measure EVERYTHING!
One quick cheat, if you're building a lightsaber with parts from TheCustomSaberShop.com is to use their MHS Builder...
Saberbuilder
Add in all your parts and line the end up on the middle of one of the gridline lines. The grid is 1" squares so if you line up your hilt on the center of one of those vertical gridlines you get a pretty accurate estimation of your hilt's length. I also put the Center-Line of the hilt on the center of one of the horizontal lines.
Now you can either Print Screen or Snipping Tool the image of your hilt (leaving a little border of the gridlines in your image) and import it into Illustrator, or better yet, Affinity Designer 2 (because Adobe can go Force themselves). Make certain your Document Setup Units are set to "Inches". Line up your image's grid to the grid in AD2 by resizing the image such that the center of the image's gridlines at both ends line up with the program's gridlines in those spots. Your image should now be pretty close to 1:1.
Go back to the MHS Builder and click on "Cutaway".
Print Screen or Snipping Tool the cutaway image of your hilt like you did the outside image, add it to your AD2 document, and line it up to the grid in the program.
Print your image. Now you can either write your measurements directly on your print or you can type them into your AD2 document and print the image with the dimensions already in place.
Please note that not all of TCSS' parts are included in the MHS Builder, and I've found parts that don't have accurate "Cutaway" images. So keep that in mind as you're measuring your parts.
You could use your images as ReelFakes suggests as a template to use the pen tool to draw out the hilt in its entirety if you so choose. I do this to create blueprints that I can print out and draw on the old fashioned way to add to the drawing. I think better with my trusty Pentel P203.
Then once I've settled the design, I go back into AD2 and add in the lines to the digital drawing.Another option would be to make blueprints within Fusion360...
Once you've completed your Fusion360 model with your handy measurement cheat sheet, you can sign your model with EMBOSS! This is SO COOL!...
Here are a couple of Lightsaber specific Fusion 360 videos for you to check out if you need a little inspiration...
I hope this helps!
May The Fusion Be With You!
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