3D printed Obi-wan Lightsaber

Valcrow

Active Member
Hi Everyone,

*EDIT New video tutorial!*

A week ago or so, I started crafting my 3D printed lightsaber, for May the 4th day. A lot of the images and references I found that were exceptionally helpful were from here, so I thought it would be fitting to share the results back here.

A little disclaimer... I'm not well versed in the hardcore details and the finer points of lightsaber prop building, nor do I understand half the of the acronyms put forth here... so if something is off, or blasphemous in the eyes of builders, I'm sorry! I don't even know exactly which particular model I made or how accurate it is. (besides the fact that it's an Obi-wan kenobi one from ANH- I think).. While I like Star Wars, my knowledge doesn't go beyond that of a casual fan... Maybe you experts can enlighten me.



So here's my final design in 3D space. 14 pieces total. They are broken up the way they are because there's certain orientations of a part that nets a more uniform outer surface. I've since simplified the design to 4 main pieces that makes it far easier to print... but is slightly less accurate to the design. The one you see here is the 14 piece version.

Lightsaber_renders.jpg




I printed it on a Ultimaker 1 in PLA. It's one of the higher end, consumer level printers that deposits lines of plastic. Imagine a hot glue gun attached to a CNC head.


Here's how all the parts come out:

IMG_20140428_030734-e1399102724283-1024x576.jpg


And what it looks like assembled! -no glue required!

IMG_20140428_000804-1024x576.jpg



And here it is painted. Going for the heavily weathered look. (illuminated with a blue laser)

UM_Lightsaber-4B-1024x504.jpg



UM_Lightsaber-2-1024x682.jpg


UM_Lightsaber-12-1024x682.jpg



UM_Lightsaber-11-1024x682.jpg


You can see the print layers here. For reference, they are 0.12mm per line. The grenade is 0.2 (I got impatient)

UM_Lightsaber-7-1024x682.jpg


Quite happy with my rusty effects. I unfortunately didn't have any translucent plastic so the bulbs are grey... But I kinda like how the raw 3d printed look contrasts with the painted look.

UM_Lightsaber-1-1024x682.jpg




There's a few more pics in high rez here.

And... if you happen to have your own printer, The models are up for free. so you can download and print your own. Happy May 4th.



Thanks for looking! & the inspiration.

Valcrow
 
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Amazing work, love the saber, love the paint job.

you could do a little paint tutorial, that really is one of the best i've seen for rust and weathering. :)
 
That looks amazing !!

As an Obi-Wan costumer I'd love to have a lightweight plastic saber like that hanging from my belt than a heavy metal one.

Your paint work is exceptional. What reference did you use? It really looks great.
 
Your saber turned out really nice, great paint work. Welcome to the forum.
 
Wow! When I saw '3-D printed' I wasn't expecting much, but this is superb. Did you get the printing done commercially, or privately? Your comment about adjusting the layers makes me think it must be your own..
 
Good job! The print lines on the grenade and booster really resemble the machining marks found on metal parts.
Clever idea to have the parts interlock to one-another.
 
Hi there,

that's indeed quite a perfect looking lightsaber ... just add a D-ring and you're done :) . . . I love the weathered paintjob

Chaim
 
Thanks for the encouragement all!

Wow! When I saw '3-D printed' I wasn't expecting much, but this is superb. Did you get the printing done commercially, or privately? Your comment about adjusting the layers makes me think it must be your own..

Yes, it's printed on a home printer, an Ultimaker 1. Roughly 1000 euros for the kit. Really great printer, best part is filament is pretty inexpensive. Probably cost like 4-6 bucks in filament.

That looks amazing !!

As an Obi-Wan costumer I'd love to have a lightweight plastic saber like that hanging from my belt than a heavy metal one.

Your paint work is exceptional. What reference did you use? It really looks great.

Thanks! I'll probably make a tutorial at some point specifically for painting 3D prints, there doesn't seem to be too much info on there about that.
But I used more or less this process: Salt all over the place.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0EWdr6t8m0

How much does it weigh?
As an Obi-Wan costumer I'd love to have a lightweight plastic saber like that hanging from my belt than a heavy metal one.

It weighs 120g. Very light mainly because I designed it hollow. There's actually a .5cm hole that goes all the way through, and the middle part has a relatively large chamber with a floating core thing so you can theoretically put a cheap 2 dollar laser and pew pew out to the tip.

It's kind of a good and bad thing, while it's easier to carry around, it certainly doesn't have the satisfying weighty cold feeling of a metal one.
But if you ding it up, you can just print another part.

I was literally thinking about printing an Obi saber this week. Looks like you beat me to it.
And you still can! the STLs are up for free.

Thanks again everyone! didn't know how well this would be received coming from a star wars noob. :p
 
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