The neopixel blade is nearly there.
there’s been some final adjustments done to the shape, and the lightning design still has a little more tweaking to go, but all in all I’m very happy with it so far.
Some details about the blade itself.
CMC machined polycarbonate durable and flexible.
Easy install of pixel. Blade uses a single 12mm wide pixel strip that slides up one side of the blade. My way of lighting the blade keeps the blade thin, reduces weight, allows it to safely flex back and forth without damaging the strip, greatly reduces power consumption, and it’s still very bright.
RGBW strips are encouraged here for best results.
The black siding is a multilayered cut graphic of my own making. It’s taken me a while to get the process down as it’s a rather unusual production methods. It has a nice matte scratch resistant laminate and the adhesive is very aggressive.
In the case of aging or if damage occurs, this siding can be stripped and a new one can be reapplied for a fresh look.
There are also different looks to choose from be it the screen accurate lightning or solid black, there’s also some other designs in the works.
These blades are to be considered hand made, while many parts are planned to be outsourced for the bulk of the blades for this run, they are all hand assembled. It takes skill, a steady hand, patience, and an eye for detail. there’s lots of steps that include sanding, trimming, glueing, chem prep, sandblasting. Not to mention I fabricate all the parts from scratch myself.
I’ve been working on the neopixel Darksaber blade for going on 3 years now. It’s been endless amounts of R&D and late nights. A passion project that became something much more due in part to the great support from the community.
I’m really happy to finally share it with you all.
Stay tuned for future updates regarding this as there’s still more developments to come.