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Author Topic: Hilt designs and making it all fit  (Read 1388 times)

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Offline Chadm

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Hilt designs and making it all fit
« on: February 25, 2019, 01:47:39 PM »
Hello,

I am looking for general tips and tricks for making everything fit when you want to do cool things like a crystal chamber, accent leds, switches, and/or even a bar graph. Is anyone willing to share their planning process?

Recently i decided to try an install i have been planned using a new (to me) Chassis design using plastic tubing inside of a sink tube hilt and a homemade activation box made from C Channel aluminum. I'm a big DIY harware store saber fan just for the fact that it is all on the cheap and generally looks very rugged like the original props from the trilogy.

As i got into it i noticed there were so many more snags in the process regarding space than i had anticipated that i lost my will to continue after 4 hours and called it a night. I took some time to rethink my install and made some good headway this morning. The problem solving is a big part of the fun of DIY sabers, but i did waste quite a bit of materials as i made mistakes and had to figure out unforseen problems.

I really appreciate the tips as my next step is to start trying to use an arduino nano/WT588D which will make space even more limited.

Thanks
-Chad   

Offline Ridire Fíréan

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Re: Hilt designs and making it all fit
« Reply #1 on: July 28, 2019, 09:26:20 AM »
Hey @Chadm  !  I see this thread is a wee bit old, and you haven't posted up any progress posts, so I hope you haven't become discouraged about continuing your lightsaber.  Maybe a bit of encouragement here will help you out!

It sounds like you have my Step No2 under control, that is to say "Gather up all your parts!".

My Step No1 is "Design your hilt."  Whether you're using TCSS parts, or making your own, it is the first thing you should have in mind, and in hand!  Some folks have a mess of parts that they've collected over the years and they simply combine different pieces a'-la-carte until they have a hilt design that they like.  Me, I'm a newbie, I don't have any parts, and I don't have a machine shop in my basement/garage to make my own, so I used TCSS's SaberBuilder to figure out what pieces that they produce would work for me in regards to the hilt design that I had in mind.

Then came Step No2 "Gather up all your parts!".  I bought all the hilt components, soundcard, speaker, LEDs, blade, blade tip, tubing, batteries, and wires that I would need to progress to the next step.

Step No3 "Design your chassis" starts for me with measuring and drawing (think blueprints)all the pieces that I have to work with and figuring out what their external and/or internal dimensions are so that I can determine what will fit where.  I have made a stack-full of drawings as I try different methods of assembly as my chassis design continues to evolve.

As your chassis design evolves you'll find yourself needing a Step No4 "Get more parts!".  For me this involves purchasing a whole bunch of buttons, connectors, resistors, protoboard, switches, tools, etc. that help me decide which parts would work in the chassis design and which ones won't.  Sure. some datasheets are helpful, but there's nothing quite like having the parts in hand in order to understand exactly what you're dealing with.

So, now it's time to deal with all these parts, and that brings us to Step No5 "Assembly."  Here's where the challenge of putting all these different parts together begins.  And it'll show how well, or poorly, your design stages went.  But, let's hope that your design was spot on and that your skill with a soldering iron is on point for all the electronics to work and that your 'Cram-Fu' is strong enough to get everything you want inside your lightsaber... well, inside it!

Don't be affraid to revisit any of these steps along the way as you figure out what works together to help you achieve your goal of a completed lightsaber!  You might even add in additional steps like a 3.5 "Teach yourself how to learn Fusion360 and make a 3D chassis!" and really go for it!

Good Luck on your build!


p.s. Here's a few links that help me immensely!...

Basic How-To's:

Rob Petkau at TCSS............... TheCustomSaberShop - YouTube

Rob Petkau personal.............. Rob Petkau - YouTube

Erv aka Irvin Plecter............ Erv Plecter - YouTube


Next Level Sabersmithing and ideas:

Slothfurnace aka Bradley Lewis................. I'm going to need all the luck there is.

Lethal Crystal aka Watchmaker Lam.............. https://www.facebook.com/pg/Lethal-Crystal-776009495784400/photos/

ShtokCustomWorx aka ShtokyD aka Dmitry Shtok... https://www.facebook.com/pg/ShtokCustomWorx/photos/


You could also check out the cutaway lightsabers of:

HSWatts aka Howard S Watts..................... https://www.deviantart.com/hswatts/gallery/35893457/cut-away-lightsabers

and RO-Lightsabers aka Roland Palotai.......... http://ro-lightsaber.blogspot.com/


Just in case you decide to add Step No3.5, this guy is AWESOME...

Lars Christensen (My Fusion360 Hero)... https://www.youtube.com/user/cadcamstuff/videos

Start here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5bc9c3S12g


I hope this helps!  Post up some pics if you're still around and have made any progress!

Offline jbkuma

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Re: Hilt designs and making it all fit
« Reply #2 on: July 28, 2019, 10:08:14 AM »
Cram Fu is the sacred art by which Jedi are truly judged.

I see you have constructed a new light saber... - YouTube
"I see you have constructed a new lightsaber. Your skills are complete."

Offline Onli-Won Kanomi

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Re: Hilt designs and making it all fit
« Reply #3 on: July 30, 2019, 09:02:04 AM »
Jbkuma is so right in this hobby Cram Fu is indeed a sacred art (as proven often by Shotos which are the cram fu Master test: I looove shotos - but hate the trials and tribulations of building them. lol)

But components have become smaller than the early days and the great tutorials now widely available at TCSS, on Youtube etc help so now its an art anyone with 'Jedi Patience' can learn...Good Luck!
To DREAM the IMPOSSIBLE DREAM. To FIGHT the unbeatable foe. To BEAR with unbearable sorrow. To RUN where the brave dare not go. To RIGHT the unrightable wrong. To LOVE, PURE AND CHASTE, FROM AFAR [-sigh-]. To TRY, when your arms are too weary; to REACH the unreachable Star!... This is my Quest; To follow that Star, no matter how hopeless, no matter how far...

 

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