This DIY Lightsaber Is a Star Wars Dream Come True
What inspired the HeroTech team to create their own fully extending and retracting lightsaber?
The HeroTech team was inspired by their love for Star Wars and the desire to create a fully extending and retracting lightsaber that resembled the iconic weapon from the franchise. They aimed to build a lightsaber with a flexible LED strip and a magician's cane, which would allow the lightsaber to extend and retract in a controlled manner. Their goal was to create a DIY version of the lightsaber that could be swung around and enjoyed by Star Wars fans.
How does the combination of a flexible LED strip and a magician’s cane contribute to the functionality of the HeroTech lightsaber?
The combination of a flexible LED strip and a magician's cane plays a crucial role in the functionality of the HeroTech lightsaber. The magician's cane is made of a flexible material designed to spring out when released and contract down to a small size. The flexible LED strip acts as tension against the cane, slowing down its extension to a more controllable degree. A motor and spool are attached to the LED strip to control the extension rate. This setup allows the lightsaber to have a realistic extending and retracting mechanism, similar to the lightsabers seen in the Star Wars universe3.
What specific role does the motor and spool play in controlling the extension rate of the lightsaber?
The motor and spool play a crucial role in controlling the extension rate of the lightsaber. The flexible LED strip is connected to the motor and spool, which are housed within the hilt. When the lightsaber is activated, the motor turns the spool, slowly unrolling the LED strip and thereby extending the lightsaber at a controlled pace. The spool ensures the LED strip unrolls evenly and without any snags, while the motor determines the speed of the extension.
In the HeroTech design, they initially tried using Lego gear pieces and treads from the Technic series with a rectangular-shaped spool, but eventually settled on a circular spool as it offered less friction. The choice of motor and board was also essential to fit within the hilt's limited size while still providing reliable performance. The Proffieboard, commonly found in homemade lightsabers, was used for this purpose and also facilitated the custom sound files, including the iconic "snap-hiss" of the lightsaber.