Star Wars Fans: 3D Print This Awesome ‘Lightsaber Mini’ to Prepare for ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’

Back in early April, we covered a rather unique writing utensil that was referred to as the “Smart Ink Extruder.” It looked like a scaled down version of the MakerBot Smart Extruder but was merely a fancy pen with an equally fancy and technical name. Designed by a man named Murray Clark, it grabbed quite a bit of attention.

Clark is at it again with his latest creation, which is aimed at Star Wars fans of all ages. His latest 3D printable design is for what he refers to as the “Light Saber Mini.”

“I’ve called the design a ‘Light Saber Mini’, so it goes without saying it will appeal to Star Wars fans and the hype around that will build again as the release of the next Star Wars movie approaches (Star Wars: The Force Awakens),” Clark tells 3DPrint.com. “I have a lot of designs of all sorts on Thingiverse, however my R2D2 is one of the most popular to date. This shows the popularity of Star Wars items but also that people like single 3D prints with moving parts because that is [where the] the ‘wow’ factor [is at] when you show other people.”

So of course Clark was sure to include moving parts in his tiny 3D printed light saber, as he feels this is one of the coolest things about 3D printed objects. What makes this design so fascinating is the fact that it prints in one piece, fully retracted, but once taken off of the printer, the magic really happens. After the removal of a very small amount of support material, which if printed correctly should almost slide off by itself, the light saber mini is ready to go to use.

“If it’s printed well, one quick flick of your wrist and your Light Saber Mini is ready to take on Darth Vader,” Murray tells us. “To make the light parts flick in / out very quickly, try applying a quick spray of silicone lubricant around the light (moving) parts. Every Star Wars fan will want to keep one of these in their pocket!”

Murray suggests printing this with a 0.2mm resolution with rafts turned on and with 4 shells. He also suggests printing it with an infill of 60% to ensure it is solid enough to work properly. At the same time, if you really want to get creative, he suggests using two colors of filament to give the light saber a more realistic look. To do so, he has outlined the instructions here.

Are you ready to try to defeat Darth Vader? Then 3D print your Light Saber Mini today! What do you think about this unique design by Murray Clark? Discuss in the Light Saber Mini forum thread on 3DPB.com.