The Path to Prop Maker
Use your maker skills and become the Jedi you were meant to be! Construct your own lightsaber using 3D printed parts and electronics from Adafruit. This advanced prop uses an accelerometer to detect swings and hits to trigger super bright NeoPixels with full sound FX!
3D Printed Props
Designed to be 3D printed with multi-material setups for creating custom color combinations. This prop is released as an open source design. Built-in access to the Adafruit Prop-Maker FeatherWing and made to be taken apart and reassembled. It's not just for show, we engineered it to take heavy hits*! Will you join the light side or the dark side?
Our previous prop builds required wiring many boards together to get what essentially is a Prop-Maker FeatherWing. For example, our Ray Gun project employed a micro-controller, audio amp, sound effects board, accelerometer, usb lipo charger, laser module and a perf-board to put it all together. Thats a-lot of wiring!
Prop-Maker FeatherWing
We think the Adafruit Feather form factor is the perfect size for building props. With the FeatherWing ecosystem, you can easily add-on new features! The Prop-Maker FeatherWing is designed for creating advanced props using motion, lights and sound. The LIS3DH accelerometer can detect steps, swings and hits. It has an on-board class-D audio amp for blasting sound effects. For creating stunning lighting effects, the built-in NeoPixel driver and 3W RGB LED driver are essential.
Hilt Buttons
The hilt design features two buttons for controlling the blade. The clamp allows for any 16mm diameter panel mounted buttons. The length of the buttons are limited to the inner diameter of the hilt (40mm) which accommodates any of these buttons.
Parts List
- Adafruit Feather M4 Express
- Adafruit Prop-Maker FeatherWing
- Short Feather Male Headers (12-pin 16-pin)
- Short Feather Female Headers (12-pin 16-pin)
- Speaker 4 ohm 3W, 40mm diameter
- 4400mAh lithium polymer battery or 2200mAh battery (lighter and can fit easier)
- Adafruit Mini Skinny NeoPixel Strip - 144 LED/m - 1m WHITE
- Metal Pushbutton – RGB (16mm diameter)
- 16mm On/Off Button
- Momentary Pushbutton – Red (16mm diameter)
- microUSB breakout
- microUSB cable – 3 ft
- 3-pin JST cable
- 2x 2-pin JST extension
- 4-pin JST cable
- molex Pico blade cable
- Heat shrink tubing – multi-color
- Silicone cover 28AWG stranded ribbon cable
Non-Adafruit Parts
- Polycarbonate Tubes – 1" OD
- Coroplast / Plastic Corrugated Sheet – 20in x 30in – 4mm
- Nitto Double-sided Tape
- Clear Tape
- Parchment Paper Roll
- JST PH connector Kit
Hardware Supplies
- 1x M3 x 16mm Pan Head Machine Screw
- Hilt Clamp
- 1x M3 nylon lock nut
- Hilt Clamp
- 6x M2.5 x 8mm Flat Head Machine Screw
- 2x Feather M4
- 2x Prop-Maker FeatherWing
- 2x microUSB breakout
- 4x M2.5 x 4mm 3.5mm Threaded Insert
- 2x Feather M4
- 2x Prop-Maker FeatherWing
Tools
List of handy things to assist in any project.
Prerequisite Guides
If you're new to Adafruit Feather M4 Express, CircuitPython or soldering, take a moment to walk through the following guides to get you started.
We designed the hilt to be 3D printed with multi-material extrusion but we also offer parts for single extruders. One of the main goals for the hilt was to have the ability to access the electronics via door or hatch. The Prop-Maker FeatherWing is accessible through an opening on the side of the barrel. This allows for adjusting volume, accessing the reset button and any of the on-board components.
With all of the components the saber weights about 1.5lbs (0.68 kg). Removing the blade from the hilt allows for transporting – So it's great for taking to cons and events!
So who's crazy enough to design build their own lightsaber? A Maker, of course! We hope to see both software engineers and mechanical designers use the Adafruit Feather and Prop-Maker FeatherWing to build their own props. Please use our guide as a reference.
Page last edited March 08, 2024
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