fiduciary

Author Topic: Lighting Quartz CCs  (Read 2508 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Onli-Won Kanomi

  • Master Force User
  • *****
  • Posts: 4689
  • Jedi Knight Of Faith
Re: Lighting Quartz CCs
« Reply #15 on: January 23, 2020, 09:51:19 PM »
That is quite nice imo...an actual crystal really makes a difference eh?
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...

Offline SirRawThunderMan

  • Master Force User
  • *****
  • Posts: 708
  • Very, Very English Poster
Re: Lighting Quartz CCs
« Reply #16 on: January 24, 2020, 04:21:34 AM »
Looking a lot better that it was  :afro: it's amazing how just one little fracture gives it just that much more personality, huh?
Better late than never.

Offline scott

  • Experienced Force User
  • ****
  • Posts: 376
  • Oh, I don’t think so.
Re: Lighting Quartz CCs
« Reply #17 on: January 24, 2020, 05:03:56 AM »
I think I actually managed 2 cracks, but yes, that made all the difference! 

The acrylic crystals are certainly brighter, but the quartz looks less like a toy!

Thanks again for the guidance!

Offline SirRawThunderMan

  • Master Force User
  • *****
  • Posts: 708
  • Very, Very English Poster
Re: Lighting Quartz CCs
« Reply #18 on: January 24, 2020, 06:38:32 AM »
No worries man, sharing info is what the forums are here for. Pay it forwards to the newbies down the line.

Also, one other tip for future builds: don't buy overly polished/hippie jewelry-grade quartz crystals if you can. They always look too nice and clean, and for some reason, a quartz crystal with flaws and fractures just looks more natural and gives a crystal chamber character. buy a couple of packs of raw, unpolished quartz crystals on ebay.

Unless, of course, you're going with an Old Canon explanation and want something that looks like a Synthetic lightsaber crystal. In which case, the clean look works really nicely for that, IMO.
Better late than never.

Offline scott

  • Experienced Force User
  • ****
  • Posts: 376
  • Oh, I don’t think so.
Re: Lighting Quartz CCs
« Reply #19 on: January 24, 2020, 09:26:41 AM »
I picked up a load of them on Amazon and they are largely pretty raw and banged up.  Being my first go at it, I actually purposely picked the clearest one, and sanded and polished it up!  Funny that my instinct led me in the exact opposite direction from where I needed to be...always learning!

Offline SirRawThunderMan

  • Master Force User
  • *****
  • Posts: 708
  • Very, Very English Poster
Re: Lighting Quartz CCs
« Reply #20 on: January 24, 2020, 03:30:39 PM »
Okay, then, I gotta give you some kudos for polishing that sucker up in the first place. That was a good enough job that it fooled me.
Better late than never.

Offline scott

  • Experienced Force User
  • ****
  • Posts: 376
  • Oh, I don’t think so.
Re: Lighting Quartz CCs
« Reply #21 on: February 18, 2020, 05:28:15 PM »
Second try at getting good illumination in a quartz crystal. This one is a much crappier presentation because it’s a chassis I designed for a K4v2 and there was very little room to squeeze it in. The crystal and the spot I created to get the led into is better than the last. Second pic is in bright light at my bench, 3rd is in moderate ambient light. Happy with this one but still looking to do better!

Quartz Kyber Crystal - Album on Imgur

Offline SirRawThunderMan

  • Master Force User
  • *****
  • Posts: 708
  • Very, Very English Poster
Re: Lighting Quartz CCs
« Reply #22 on: February 19, 2020, 01:42:44 AM »
Not bad, not bad. :smiley:

Also, I remembered something that I've tried a couple of times but never had the opportunity to use in a build. It's similar to diffusing the back facets of a crystal by sanding them, but instead, you wrap the back facets in aluminised foil tape. It's an old movie propmaster trick to make cheap plastic gems shine like the real thing on screen, and it works rather well when the gem in question has its own illumination. I'll let a former Mythbuster demonstrate: One Day Builds: Customizing Adam's Hero Sword - YouTube

The only catch there is that the foil blocks out the light, so it casts some odd shadows inside the chamber. But, if you've got a small chamber where the rear side of it doesn't show, it's a handy trick to have up your sleeve.
Better late than never.

Offline scott

  • Experienced Force User
  • ****
  • Posts: 376
  • Oh, I don’t think so.
Re: Lighting Quartz CCs
« Reply #23 on: February 19, 2020, 05:36:33 AM »
I actually put foil tape on the top of the last one to redirect some of the passthru back into the crystal. One thing I was thinking about was small (very small) mirrors inside the chamber, for this one, maybe at the point since that just rests on a hard surface.

Offline SirRawThunderMan

  • Master Force User
  • *****
  • Posts: 708
  • Very, Very English Poster
Re: Lighting Quartz CCs
« Reply #24 on: February 19, 2020, 06:58:00 AM »
I did try something similar on my current WIP. I didn't have much hilt space for the crystal chamber, so it's very much a window with a quartz crystal right behind it. no details, no ornamentation, there was barely any space for the crystal. I thought it might be a good idea to coat the walls of the chamber in aluminised foil tape and polish that up to a mirror shine.

Didn't work. by that, I mean the aluminium foil polished up no problem, but the shiny mirrored walls made the walls glow so much you could barely see the crystal with the naked eye. On camera, it was like having another small lightsaber blade inside the saber.

your mileage may vary, of course, but I'm avoiding doing that in the future.
Better late than never.

Offline jbkuma

  • Mining Colony Members
  • Master Force User
  • *
  • Posts: 980
  • Pixels, everywhere.
    • Mad Science Workshoppe
Re: Lighting Quartz CCs
« Reply #25 on: February 19, 2020, 08:37:40 AM »
I've done the aluminum tape on top of the crystal thing as well.  It does help with light that night otherwise be absorbed and reflected in ways that aren't helpful or are undesirable.

Offline scott

  • Experienced Force User
  • ****
  • Posts: 376
  • Oh, I don’t think so.
Re: Lighting Quartz CCs
« Reply #26 on: February 19, 2020, 03:17:10 PM »
All good ideas to try...I was worried that the little wrinkles in the foil tape would show up poorly if I put it in the sides of the chamber, but it did work well to reflect back from the top where it wasn’t visible when looking directly at the chassis. Having fun trying to get this right. Then I see pictures of Yoda’s CC and shake my head!

Offline scott

  • Experienced Force User
  • ****
  • Posts: 376
  • Oh, I don’t think so.
Re: Lighting Quartz CCs
« Reply #27 on: March 08, 2020, 06:59:11 PM »
I promise I won’t keep this thread active for every new build, but very happy with how this quartz CC lights up. Thanks again for the tips!  This is in a Korbanth K4, custom chassis that I printed.

Quartz Crystal Chamber - Album on Imgur

Offline SirRawThunderMan

  • Master Force User
  • *****
  • Posts: 708
  • Very, Very English Poster
Re: Lighting Quartz CCs
« Reply #28 on: March 09, 2020, 01:13:50 AM »
okay, so, you've got lighting the crystal more or less down. Kudos.

...now, I feel I must go off topic and give unasked for 3D printing advice. Drop your layer height to 0.1mm, and search your slicing software for a Z-seam hiding option. Active cooling on (if you've got it)

If you can't do that, design your chassis slightly undersize, print it, and paint with epoxy (preferably something with a longer cure time that the 5min glue, but that'll do in a pinch) and sand down carefully until you've got a flat surface. that'll hide your print lines and give you a flat surface to paint/rub'n'buff to your heart's content, with the added bonus of making your chassis stronger.
Better late than never.

Offline scott

  • Experienced Force User
  • ****
  • Posts: 376
  • Oh, I don’t think so.
Re: Lighting Quartz CCs
« Reply #29 on: March 09, 2020, 03:41:51 PM »
Yep, I have done some mint ones like that. This was a first go at this hilt, and with the back and forth and reprints, I generally do faster prints and adjustments. Now that I have a model that I know works, finer detail and finish the next time I use it.

 

retrousse