The lightsaber was one of the coolest and most iconic visual effects from the original Star Wars, and people have been trying to get that particular piece of movie magic off the silver screen for about 40 years now. [HeroTech] seems to have cracked the code with their “Impossible Lightsaber”— it’s fully retractable, fully lit, and able to hit things (lightly), all while fitting into a replica prop handle.
The secret is… well, there’s more than one secret, here. The blade itself is made out of a “magician’s cane”, which is a coil of plastic that can spring outwards on demand for magic tricks. Hidden inside of it is a strip of LED lights. Of course one strip of LEDs would not be omnidirectional, and the magician’s cane is pretty floppy, but both of those problems are solved by the same idea: “I’ll try spinning. That’s a good trick.”
The spin-stabilized blade holds up to being waved around much better, and apparently the gyroscopic forces it induces are actually lore-accurate. (Who knew?) Of course fitting a motor to spin the “blade”, and another to winch it back in, along with the circuitry and batteries to drive them was no mean feat. It’s impressive they fit it all inside the replica handle; even more impressive that they fit a speaker so this prop even makes the iconic sound effects. We always wanted to see a stage production of William Shakespeare’s Star Wars, and this gives us verily, a new hope.
[HeroTech] isn’t done yet– while seemingly impossible, this lightsaber isn’t perfect, as it’s not rugged enough for full dueling. It’s also not easy to put together, and apparently can’t handle the delicate attentions of airline baggage handlers. So ruggedization and a bit of design-for-assembly are on the table for the next version. Sadly the project is not open source; they are releasing the build files to subscribers only. Given how much work must have gone into iterating to get to this point, that is disappointing, but understandable. Everybody needs to make a living, after all.
If this project seems familiar, it’s because we featured a much-bulkier previous iteration last year.
You may prefer your lightsabers to match the movie version in effects instead of visuals; if that’s the case, check out this saber that uses HHO to cut through a steel door.
Wild stuff – really clever. I’m genuinely impressed.
It’s ‘semi’ open source. Apparently the files were free for 48 hours following the release of the video.
Also $5 for website access to the plans in the grand scheme of things is nothing, the rest of the parts will likely run you hundreds of dollars. He admits there will be future tweaking of the design, and he has a video that clearly explains the concepts and even some of the solutions.
I can only hope that this will be iterated and hit production. It is a really neat concept that actually works.
But why a reed switch?
I realise it’s to activate the thing, but now it means you have to have a magnet with you. So why not just repurpose one of the nubbins on the hilt to be a pushbutton?
probably because it’s easier to integrate with whatever looking prop switch you want?
Because the internal chassis that houses the rest of the electronics is spinning
quick glance at the vid shows the plan was to have a magnet in the rotating part and a reed switch in the base.
I have no idea why he needs to have a synchronized switch.
In my day we synchronized Swatches.
You know there are double-sided LED filaments available now I hear, in 5v variants too I’m told.
If you want to go easy and not have it rotate.
Those LED filaments are delicate though, you’d need to reinforce them.
The rotation was to keep the magician cane straight/rigid. It has the added effect of giving the shimmer without modulating the light, a 2 sided strip would diminish that
Two sides of something flat is not round, and light sabers are (for a sword, which is typically flat and sharp), remarkably round.
I remember seeing (on here?) a lift mechanism for auditorium seating that was basically this magician’s cane, but with sprocket holes along one edge of the coil and matching bosses along the other edge, so that it locked into place for (a lot of) rigidity. It looked like it was made from stamped steel, which would work for clear thermoplastic, though of course easier said than done.
The bosses would increase the volume in the coiled state though, which could be a dealbreaker here. Perhaps they could be replaced with bent-out tabs that can press flat when stored.
Possibly this is what I was (mis)remembering:
https://youtu.be/AukVObyIF90
This design locks two separate coils together though; I really thought I’d seen a simpler version.
rewatch your link
its not two separate coils. Its a single piece of metal with tabs along one edge and holes on the other, interlocking as it transitions from coiled to spiraled tube.
No, that’s what I was originally describing; the video shows two separate bands (indeed, that is the first sentence of the narration)
My bad, youre right. I watched without sound and I guess my mind filled in blanks incorrectly.
About 10-15 years ago, We had a mast lift that i swore was from this same company that was as I described, a metal belt with 90 degree tabs at the bottom edge and corresponding slots at the top.
A bunch of websearching turns up nothing like it. The closest being DIABLO Deployable Interlocking Actuated Band which seems to use a rivet and hole system of interlocking a single metal band into a mast.
Nice work.
About two years ago, I also looked into this topic. I used a laser and glycerin as a light guide, which was pumped in and out of a PMMA tube using a syringe pump. I still occasionally work on this engineering problem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTxHwHzAYPE
Such an impressive build, an then he goes to comic con without even putting on a jedi robe or such?
(I’m not too familiar with that universe, but I did not recognize the leather jacket)