Hi fellow makers,
One of the prints I wanted to share on /MakerTale was one of my first prints. I normally use my PrintrBot for prototyping enclosures and functional parts, but once in a while I cannot help to print (movie) props just because they are too nice to neglect! Once I saw the Star Wars Lightsaber popping up on Youmagine, I challenged myself to make this one of my first projects of printing large objects and as a gift to a Star Wars aficionado. This also is one of the projects showcasing my print abilities on my Hub located in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Star wars Lightsaber Complex Version
The model has been featured by Ultimaker and is designed by Jacky aka Velcro. The files for replicating this model can be found on Youmagine. Note; there is both a complex version as well as a simple version with less parts and less details.
I printed this model on a PrintrBot Metal Simple on both 100 micron and 200 micron resolutions. I opted to use two different resolutions since is was not really visible on the larger parts and saved quite some time. I would consider this print as a intermediate difficulty, since there are some parts that require a well calibrated printer (some fine patterns and tall parts are involved).
Print details
- Printer: PrintrBot Metal Simple
- Resolution: 0.1 & 0.2 mm depending on parts
- Temperature: 200c
- Heated Bed: no
- Surface adhesion: 3M Blue painters tape with glue stick
- Brim: yes, to improve the bed adhesion and prevent warping
- Infill: 15% for small parts, 20% for larger parts
- Material: @ColorFabb Standard Black & Shiny Silver PLA 1.75mm
- Slicing software: Slic3r
- Thingiverse file
The print settings and details are pretty standard for most prints that I make with the machine. Note that this model uses the FDM method to its full advantage; all parts of the model are mostly printed upright so that most shapes are formed perfectly without any overhang or printing defects. No support was needed for any parts.
Challenges
Most of the parts that needed to be printed in the complex version of the Lightsaber easy in terms of slicing and printing. There were only two parts that needed attention, namely the Lightsaber Switch and the Lightsaber Pummel. The switch was a bit fragile to print, since this part was also supposed to print vertically. I printed this on a slower speed and with a larger brim to prevent the print from falling over. The Pummel was printed twice, due to the horizon gaps that were visible on the top layers. The main problem was the infill was too low and there were too little top layers to support each layer. I bumped up the infill percentage to 20% and 5 top layers to prevent any small gaps.
The whole project took a week from start to finish. I do not have the exact numbers of the filament that I have used and the time printing, but an estimate would be around 2/3 full days of printing depending on your settings. I printed almost all pieces separately because I wanted to prevent horizontal print lines in the model due to movement of the nozzle head and since I was not 24/7 checking up on the progress.
Overall, this approach took longer than loading and slicing all the parts on the printed in 1 or 2 print jobs, but paid off in the end. Some parts needed to be printed again because they were too brittle or letting loose of the bed halfway through the print.
It was a fun project to both test your 3D printer and to have an awesome 1:1 replica of a Star Wars Lightsaber. Jacky even supplied a printable stand to show off and display the Lightsaber. I would highly recommend to print this model and even finish with some paint/airbrush if you have the time. It inspired me to print more (movie related) props and larger objects in the weekends. Some of these other projects can be seen on the photograph below. You can find the print details and other showcase projects on my hub.
May the force be with you,
Ken
