I am a 45 year old man. But this had me feel like a kid again. It is so great that you young ppl working on things I thought I would never see in my life time come true. Plz make a red one. Thank you and your team. May the Force be with you.
Thank you so much! This means a lot to us, will continue improving the design and sharing it 👍 and will also make different color blades in the future :) May the force be with you too!
As a 54 year old man who saw the first Star Wars in theatres in 1977, I completely echo this sentiment. Between this and the Bay Transformer movies......my wife thinks I've regressed. Can't wait to see what you do next, and also wait to see if they become available for production. Take my money, price be damned!
Dude I really wanted to ask this: Why do you think the demonstrations from the disney retractable lightsaber make that version look so fragile? Do you have any idea why they barely moved that thing and hold it like it can break at any second? At the end of your video you're swinging and spinning this saber like it doesn't affect the blade quality at all. My question is if you can spin your retractable lightsaber why can't they?
My best guess is that they're using two opposite tape measure blades for the blade structure itself - unfortunately the problem with that is that they're a bistable structure that can crumple if pushed too hard. Now, they could make the plastic thicker to make it more stable, but the problem there is it would greatly increase the size of it stored inside the hilt and it would affect the light diffusion so the blade would not be as bright. It's a difficult problem because you run up against the material property limits of using a clear plastic as your blade structure, and you can't switch to a metal because then you lose the transparency that lets the LEDs shine through. I think their design is still really cool though, and I don't doubt Disney Imagineering's ability to come up with solutions to these things.
@@herotech That's awesome. Thanx for actually taking the time to reply. Maybe if you guys worked together you both could come up with the perfect saber. But your results without disney/lucasfilm resources are already incredible. I might not know you but I'm really proud of u guys.
Super dope lightsaber! Regarding the overheating of the LEDs, you could look into individually addressable LED strips, you could then calculate which LEDs to turn on depending on how far they are extended. That way, only the exterior LEDs are turned on and the inside ones are off.
That is a sick idea, thanks!! :) Yeah that is exactly how the first hilt melted, all the LEDs wound on the spool tightly packed and then being overdriven
Awesome job, by a group of talented engineers. I saw Star Wars first run in the theatre in 1977 and it blew us away. We were totally obsessed with it and stood in line for a chance to buy the original Kenner action figures. I am amazed at how this franchise is still captivating minds and spurring creativity. When I see young folks doing things like this it gives me hope for the future. Keep up the awesomeness my young friends.
not to mention all the toys spawned from series! especially like plastic, clay and even metal models and LEGO builds(something I'm actually doing rn! it's a Tie Phantom which is a very interesting Tie model) both from LEGO, knock off brands(which a lot are actually really nice quality these days!) or even some of the wonder MOCs on sites like Rebrickable/BrickVault where there are loads of completely custom MOCs(My Own Creation(s)) which use LEGO bricks to make gorgeous recreations of essentially anything you could imagine
When I saw the lightsaber extending in the beginning of the video, I thought _"OK, this is CGI, it must be the goal they're looking to achieve but it will never look that great without video FX"_ I know you want to make it even better but it already looks amazing! Great job!!
Ah thank you so much!! When people say our stuff looks like CGI it's such a high compliment :) Yeah it looks great even now, but I think it can look even better haha
I am a 40 year veteran of the prop building industry and I must you have come up with a very innovative solution to the age old problem of the retractable lightsaber. Well done!!!
There's a Disney Imagineer somewhere very mad you made this. No doubt a DIY is more affordable than what they would charge eventually at Galxys Edge. Great work!!!
Feels like I’ve been waiting on a lightsaber design like this my whole life 😭. As a recent engineering graduate, seeing what you guys do is really inspirational and has me excited about getting into the industry and hopefully be apart of a team just as clever!
How about building a wall covered in gecko tape and recording a bunch of people climbing on it, with a specific interest in studying their contact points so that you can make a real spider suit?@@herotech
@@herotech Yes, they hold up very well, so much so that the channel "the action lab" has already made a video putting them on gloves and trying to climb walls... However, I don't know if they would still have all that strength when thrown, I think the shot would not put enough pressure to fix it and allow it to swing
Funny enough, spinning the blade with reflective material on it is exactly how they achieved the pulsing, flickering effect on the original lightsabers in 1977.
So impressive. I love that you take such an iconic artifact and use your creativity and ingenuity to create this new millennium version. Wishing you continued success!
What a fantastic work dear Jacob , congratulations to you and your team, I’m also so glad to finally find a video about the possibility to build my own lightsaber than hasn’t to be 4 years or more old. Like the dream died long ago, and here you are. Young pleople. Probably half my age creating one. A as I’ll keep an eye on your work , I m still trying to build my own one. You are a great inspiration. Big respect and thanks.
When me and my friend were graduating high school around 2000, we planned about this. One of my friends did end up building an engineering draft, but we weren’t able to develop it further. Seeing you guys pull it off really fires me up to call my buds up to start working on it again. Congratulations and thanks for sharing your process! And also congrats on graduating! 😊
That's awesome, glad to hear that y'all were thinking about this too and that you want to start working on it again! And thank you for the well wishes :)
Disney's retractable lightsaber was developed in 2018 or earlier and was first demonstrated in March 2023 at SXSW by Josh D'Amaro, the Chairman of Disney Parks and Experiences.
Insane that you were the first to do this and that (besides all the brilliant engineering) the design is as simple as an led strip and a magicians wand. Amazing work by all three of you
Heyyy!!! good to see you back! And face reveal??!? What!!!?! super crazy bro! This was such a clever idea. I bet Disney is taking notes as we speak! Can’t wait to see more videos from you!congratulations on graduating!🎉
Dude as someone who has watched star wars for about 28 yrs. And watched episodes 4 when I was 6. I have to say this is the kewlest damn thing I have seen. Even compared to the tungsten lightsaber that actually gets hot. I would Def like to get my hands on one of these....keep up the killer work!
Hey the video is super cool, congrats on solving the challenge. Didn’t go through all of the other comments but 1 suggestion would be to add an accelerometer and tie that input into the hum of a lightsaber when it gets waved around. It would be a real enhancement and give a totally engaging sensation and compliment the great light effect that you achieved. Cheers on such a great project. Interested in the final finished item. Best of luck.
Thank you for the kind words and suggestion! Our proffieboard actually has an accelerometer, we just need to make use of it :) will continue improving this!
Without visionaries like you 3, and with the know how to bring it to fruition, we wouldn't have even half the incredible things that exist. You did a fantastic job so far and cant wait to see how much further you all take it. Congrats on your graduation 🎓 and keep aiming high. You will change the world in truly wonderful ways.
Fantastic work. Had to drop out of highschool to take care of my grandmother. Had i made to college, i feel like this is exactly what i would have attempted to do. Definitely earned a sub, and look forward to future developments!
Thank you for the kind words! Hope your grandmother is okay, it’s great that you take good care of your family. Will continue improving this and sharing the design!
We will watch your career with great interest! That's awesome! Being able to swing it like that already seems to surpass the prototype Disney showed off some time ago, which while it is impressive, didn't seem to be capable of moderate swinging. I can't wait to see how this project goes, along with anything else you guys have! I'm on the hook! You are all absolutely going places... and congratulations on graduating! I'd love to see a short choreographed duel with two of these sabers, just for the fun of it!
Thanks Chancellor :) and thank you so much for the kind words. Yeah I kept waiting for footage of the Disney prototype being swung or even light dueling but sadly I'm not sure if their design can take the forces. We'll keep improving our design and keep everyone updated. Once we have two of these sabers a choreographed duel is definitely in the cards!
@@herotech It was really cool to see a retractable lightsaber but it almost looked as if the blade swayed back and forth, and he looked very careful not to move it too much. That's to be expected on an early prototype, but I really wonder what their goal is with it! Hopefully they will be able to refine it well enough for some light dueling! I can't wait to see future updates on your projects, give everyone on the team a pat on the back hahaha
I have only seen one Star Wars movie and I am very impressed with your light saber. The sky is the limit for you guys. Keep making your dreams come true!
So, @9:48 you brought tears of joy to an old man's eyes! I've considered some of the other options mentioned for various reasons but the idea of hiding the tube until just the right moment (Cons and such) never appealed to me. Now, I'm glad I waited! This is doable and much more appealing to my "DIY" self. I'm sure my wife will understand why I suddenly had to purchase a 3D printer. "Subbed" of course!
This is incredible. I can't wait to see where this project goes, it looks like it could be the future of consumer cosplay & trick sabers for sure. Excited to see progress on the web shooters too! Keep it up 😊
Glad to see you posting again! This was an amazing project and I love the thought process break down. The webshooters were super cool but the versatility in doing other projects is something I can't wait to see more of!
Thank you so much and thank you for watching my videos all this time! Very appreciated and happy to know that y'all enjoy other science fiction projects as well
Spinning is actually what they did in the original lightsaber effect. They used fluorescent tape on a long rod, attach that to a Dremel and the dremel to an old camera flashlight and put a light directly over the camera. This is a huge step to actual realistic lightsabers with no vfx!!!
it's what they TRIED to do to keep it as an in-camera effect. They ultimately decided it didn't work and roto'd an optical effect over it in post. There's some footage floating around of the un-roto'd shots and it doesn't look great.
I love it, I actually gave up on a similar design that used an extendable staff I'm so happy you made it work it even inspired me to retry (promise I won't steal the same design) Also thanks for introducing the team.
Well, the lightsabers in the Acolyte are pretty much right on par with the size seen here. So, I am all for it. The only improvements beyond what HeroTech mentioned in the last part of the video would be increasing the extension/retraction rates and reducing, if possible, the gear noises. I see that as like a 4.0 model, but man this looks awesome.
The props in the original Star Wars had spinning blades to reflect light for their very basic effects. FYI; Disney hilts might be official, but they are not screen accurate to the ones used in the movies. The movie ones are between one and one and a half inches in diameter.
Someone knows their stuff :) The original spinning blades were one of the inspirations to have the blade structure not only be reflective metal but also to spin and create the POV effect. Yeah still trying to make the hilt thinner, making them out of metal should help with that but it will also take longer and be more expensive haha
Nice Saber! Instead of spinning the LEDs, which could cause more heat to be generated in the saber, could an inflatable, opaque plastic tube work? Similar to an Inflatable Robot Snake. It can be inflated by pumping air into it, or just thought the LEDs pushing it out (however this could cause the tube to be loose/floppy) and then deflated by attaching it to the LEDs at the tip of the saber (so when it retracts the tube is pulled down) and then a fan or vacuum system to aid in pulling and loose bits back into the hilt. This might not work though I know very little about engineering
That might work as well! Yes as another option we’re exploring some kind of transparent material that goes over the LEDs to diffuse the light and make the blade solid, however there are some challenges to that as you can imagine haha
This is amazing! One thing I would love to see is a faster retraction, a smaller hilt, and a silent retraction as well. I can't wait to see what you guys do next.
Congrats. Good luck. I am not mechanically inclined and too ADD to tackle this. I'll be happy to buy the finished product when it's ready. I wish you the best.
Disney can't do shit to them unless they commercialize the product. Even then they can just call it "lazer sword" and Disney legally can't touch them. There's a reason Disney couldn't touch Gundam series' beam sabers, as long as the hilt design is different they're SOL.
Very well done. I am very impressed. The only thing that needs adjustment is the speed of the blade, but it seems you guys are working on the major upgrades.
I wouldn't be surprised if Disney calls you. I know they came up with their own lightsaber, and I wonder how similar it is to your design. Good Luck with everything!
Incredible work! This is gonna change cosplay and prop making forever now that you’ve released the base recipe online. Also I’ve learned recently that the original lightsaber sound was from a projector motor so maybe you could incorporate that into the high speed spinning mechanism so there’s no need for a soundboard. Or at least for the humming sound
Thank you and thank you for your suggestion! I didn’t know that, that’s pretty cool! We’ll see what we can do/what we can fit into the hilt now that we’re trying to make it thinner as well
I was 10 years old when the first Star Wars movie came out. I dreamed of a lightsaber in my hand. I built a cardboard into a long cylindrical hilt with a small flashlight inside. Sadly, no blade, lol. It was fun!! Until I saw this and you brought back my dream again. I would love to see this happened so I can get my hands on your hilt with expandable and retractable blade. I am hoping to see in aquagreen/aquamarine color blade, if that's possible. Thank you for building it!! Star Wars rules!!! HeroTech rules!!!
I’m always amazed by engineering folks who do what they do. The amount of left brain work these geniuses do is just incredible. I am totally not inclined that way and have awe and respect for these folks. My own brother is one!
Spinning the blade is a brilliant idea, and would replicate how the saber looked like in ANH more than anything. The original lightsaber prop was a spinning rod of reflective projection screen material that bounced the stage lights making the bright shimmering blade.
I like how you actually did cool things with the saber instead of holding it and swinging like you've never held one like disney does. Also I'm exited to see were this goes already on camera looks AMAZING. Waiting for when i can break my brothers fingers in a duel with one of these!
@@CAVECATART how did they? disney who owns the whole brand calls a light up plastic tube on the end on a handle a lightsaber. so this is literally a video "building a real retractable lightsaber" if you think this is "lying" you going to have alot of fun on the internet
When seeing those adds for metal retractable personal defense staffs I thought to myself. That's how they should do lightsabers. I was planning on buying one. And making a neopixel type lightsaber for myself. Then I see this video! And you guys did the hard work for me thank you! Saves me a lot time myself by researching videos like this.
Please. Sell these. What you’re doing. We will be reading of you. You already changed the future. Im a cop in Florida and your in my news feed to read about. I just read your articles. Watches your video. I’m subscribed. You had my money. I need 10 sabers. 5 Jedi. 5 dark side. AND I’m a black guy….do not stop losing sleep to accomplish your dreams. Anything is possible through God. May he bless you! You’re up next.
Yes, the spinning blade is the final missing piece of the project. Genius👌 From that the LED strip can be smaller or become a small string that can give better mechanical parts. Depending on the spinning speed blade can extend or retract. Just the idea for V.2. Great work team 🎉🎉🎉
A truly wonderful display of idea to concept and concept to fabrication. Keep up the excellent work work, I am very impressed by your workmanship and by your resilient attitude when it came to the inevitable fall downstairs and engineering challenges. Well don't to you all, can't wait to see the improvements that you mentioned. Thanks for sharing and all the best to you all for your futures, they took look very bright. Congratulations
Thank you so much! Really appreciate the kind words. Glad that you enjoyed the engineering journey, and will work hard to implement the saber improvements!
Such a great video you guys put together! Seeing it go from planning, testing, brilliant execution... it's inspiring to see ya'll not giving up and creating something that feels unbelievable. Keep it up
for a version 2 id suggest having a heavy duty fishing line to pull the magic cane back down in sync with the led strip tension as i personally think the rubbing back and forth will end up breaking the leds over time , also it would smooth out the extension and retraction of the blade if across 2 motors instead
Bro at first I was skeptical as hell but as the video kept going it became a beatiful work of art. Even though its not combat ready and not a plasma based one like the hacksmith team did its really cool to se a realistic and safe option made
The end made me smile so much. Also the spinning is how they made the original lightsabers in 1977! Really cool what I would love to see is you being able to smash two together because even Disney can't do that. But your video is Inspiring and fun and I loved seeing the process.
question: although you didn't mention it in the video will the next version of the saber have a quieter motor because at this current phase that is my biggest problem with it.
Yep! Along with speeding it up speccing a new motor should help with the noise. We also are upping the volume on the board and using a more powerful speaker
A very cool build indeed ! If I'm not mistaken the "spining effect" was the one used during the making of the original trilogy. That would be dope and funny if you could apply it to your saber. A cool hat tip to the past.
The spinning trick is how the lightsabers were originally done - they were triangular in cross-section, covered with reflective tape, and spun using a motor in the hilt to reflect the lights on-set. You can see this best in the original theatrical cut of Star Wars (before it was A New Hope) when the sabers are pointed towards the camera. Only later did they start painting the effect on in post. (In the sequel trilogy, and the Disney+ series, they used sabers very much like the third party sabers you can buy now to project light on-set.)
Yo hero tech quick question how do you guys get the cane to retract back down cuz u have to spin it and pulling it with like fishing wire doesn’t pull it down please help
There is an opening in the lightsaber hilt that lets you manually spin the cane while its retracting, in the next version we’re testing a motor that can do this automatically 👍
I saw Star Wars on opening day back in 1977 and when I saw Luke's lightsaber I recognized it because I owned a Graphlex Flashgun which was the basis of Luke's lightsaber. I went home dug it up from my basement and started to think about how to make it work like a real lightsaber. It just so happened that my father owned a magic shop and we sold the magician's appearing cane. I rigged it up to the front of the flashgun and made it work by pressing the button on the flashgun so it would release the appearing cane. It didn't light up or make a sound but I brought it to a science fiction convention in NY and sold it to someone for $100. I then went to every camera store in Manhattan and bought up as many old used Graflex Flashguns as I could find for about $5 each and brought them to the next convention and sold them. I still have one of the original flash guns to this day. What you and your people created is absolutely incredible. You should patent it and try to sell it to Disney.
That’s so awesome!!! Always exciting to hear other people had the same idea at different times. What a coincidence that your father owned a magic shop and that you owned a graphlex flashgun!
*Impressive. Most impressive.* The spinning effect gives it that distinctive flicker and creates the illusion of a solid beam of light. But, you're going to run into problrms with combating the centripetal force trying to pull the LED strip away from the tensioner as it reaches full length. Friction and any accidental contact with the spinning rod are going to be an issue too. If there's a way, your best bet will be to recreate the clear magician's kain on a larger scale as a protective covering that will extend with and over the inner core and contain the strip.
Thank you! Totally agree that as we speed up, we’re fighting the centripetal force that will make the led strip look more like a globe than a cylinder haha. We’re hoping at a sweet spot of 1200RPM, it’s enough to create the POV effect but not too fast that the led strips pull away from the cane - we’ll see! We are also exploring adding a second diffusion layer like you mentioned :)
@@herotech , What you've done already is really cool. You've managed to pull off a great effect similar to Disney's version. But where theirs may extend faster, Theirs can't retract on its own like yours, and you did it in what appears to be a smaller package. Disney's hilt looks almost comically oversized. If you're able to speed yours up *and* put it in a smaller hilt, that will be quite the achievement. I really hope you're able to come up with a protective defusion layer to protect all the working parts. I have a feeling that the next problem you'll want to address will be a way of cooling the whole thing. I believe you'll be able to save a lot of room inside if you can find a way to have a custom board made to replace some circuitry and a good amount of the wiring inside. Smaller modular connectors would be so much easier to fit in such a small package, and it might even make enough room for some kind of ducted cooling fan in the pummel. I'm curious. What if you were to try using addressable LEDs? That way you could program them to only come on once they unwind from the spool, and would turn off in succession as they're wound back up to keep them from cooking the parts, and from cooking themselves. That might be more than you would want to mess with and might require more circuitry that you have room to fit inside, though. And, they may not be available in 12V, or be as bright as the ones you're using. Just figured it might be worth thinking about. Great work so far! Really well done. Can't wait to see the follow-up.
Thank you ahahaha! Yep definitely looking to speed ours up and make the hilt even thinner. Definitely agree with your point about the cooling - with some initial thermal tests, the main concern is the LED strip. Big failure mode is when all of the strip is on the spool and the strip is turned on without extending the blade: lots of heat, nowhere to dissipate effectively. Part of the problem is the slow extension, which hopefully switching to a more powerful motor can lessen the time that all the LED strip is spent cooped up in the hilt together. Love the point about the addressable LEDs as well, that would definitely be another solution - as you've pointed out, it just comes down to whether we can spec ones that are as bright/durable as the ones we are currently using. Now part of what gets me excited about spinning the internal chassis is that hopefully, at that speed we can actually effectively air cool the LED strip: instead of a fan where we move air over the strips to dissipate heat, we are moving the strips over the air to do so :) Would need to provide some ducts in the pommel/hilt design itself to allow for airflow but hopefully those same ducts can be used for the soundboard/speaker to allow for better sound projection. Of course this doesn't work as well if we have the diffusion layer over it, but definitely something to be explored IMO. Thanks for the feedback/input, love reading these comments!
To make it more real, the magician's stick you used can be coated in a phosphor material that when a charge is applied, will make it glow. You could always reprint it in a clear material and put the led strip in it, or a very bright emitter at the lower end to light it from the inside.
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That opening clip looked so good I legit thought it was CGI until watching the clips from testing. That's nuts.
Thank you!!
Still looks like it has some post FX on top of it.
@@RefractArt Tbh I think the saturation has been increased and contrast decreased but apart from that I think its all practical
It's too slow
lol yeah, looks more like the Schwartz, if you know what I mean #spaceballs MisterPotter
I am a 45 year old man. But this had me feel like a kid again. It is so great that you young ppl working on things I thought I would never see in my life time come true. Plz make a red one.
Thank you and your team.
May the Force be with you.
Thank you so much! This means a lot to us, will continue improving the design and sharing it 👍 and will also make different color blades in the future :) May the force be with you too!
As a 54 year old man who saw the first Star Wars in theatres in 1977, I completely echo this sentiment. Between this and the Bay Transformer movies......my wife thinks I've regressed. Can't wait to see what you do next, and also wait to see if they become available for production. Take my money, price be damned!
@@wickedwarlock1 I would love to have a couple myself.
I will add my name to the list. At 59 I was there for Star Wars and was hooked! I have always wanted a light saber and no it might be possible.
Check you the hacksmith lightsaber, it'll blow you're socks off
Finally a retractable blade, barely anyone did this before. Awesome work and hope to see the improved v2.0
Thank you!!
The spinning gives it an electric looking glow, so awesome.
Right?! Ahahaha it looks so good in person too
Dude I really wanted to ask this: Why do you think the demonstrations from the disney retractable lightsaber make that version look so fragile? Do you have any idea why they barely moved that thing and hold it like it can break at any second? At the end of your video you're swinging and spinning this saber like it doesn't affect the blade quality at all. My question is if you can spin your retractable lightsaber why can't they?
My best guess is that they're using two opposite tape measure blades for the blade structure itself - unfortunately the problem with that is that they're a bistable structure that can crumple if pushed too hard. Now, they could make the plastic thicker to make it more stable, but the problem there is it would greatly increase the size of it stored inside the hilt and it would affect the light diffusion so the blade would not be as bright. It's a difficult problem because you run up against the material property limits of using a clear plastic as your blade structure, and you can't switch to a metal because then you lose the transparency that lets the LEDs shine through. I think their design is still really cool though, and I don't doubt Disney Imagineering's ability to come up with solutions to these things.
@@herotech That's awesome. Thanx for actually taking the time to reply. Maybe if you guys worked together you both could come up with the perfect saber. But your results without disney/lucasfilm resources are already incredible. I might not know you but I'm really proud of u guys.
Thanks and no problem! A Disney collab would be awesome, their resources and engineering talent are really next level
Super dope lightsaber! Regarding the overheating of the LEDs, you could look into individually addressable LED strips, you could then calculate which LEDs to turn on depending on how far they are extended. That way, only the exterior LEDs are turned on and the inside ones are off.
That is a sick idea, thanks!! :) Yeah that is exactly how the first hilt melted, all the LEDs wound on the spool tightly packed and then being overdriven
You could seriously make a lot of money if you could manufacture and sell these to the people sign me up for pre-orders
Awesome job, by a group of talented engineers. I saw Star Wars first run in the theatre in 1977 and it blew us away. We were totally obsessed with it and stood in line for a chance to buy the original Kenner action figures. I am amazed at how this franchise is still captivating minds and spurring creativity. When I see young folks doing things like this it gives me hope for the future. Keep up the awesomeness my young friends.
Thank you so much for your kind words!!! It means a lot to us and has made my day :) Will continue working on this
not to mention all the toys spawned from series! especially like plastic, clay and even metal models and LEGO builds(something I'm actually doing rn! it's a Tie Phantom which is a very interesting Tie model) both from LEGO, knock off brands(which a lot are actually really nice quality these days!) or even some of the wonder MOCs on sites like Rebrickable/BrickVault where there are loads of completely custom MOCs(My Own Creation(s)) which use LEGO bricks to make gorgeous recreations of essentially anything you could imagine
When I saw the lightsaber extending in the beginning of the video, I thought _"OK, this is CGI, it must be the goal they're looking to achieve but it will never look that great without video FX"_
I know you want to make it even better but it already looks amazing!
Great job!!
Ah thank you so much!! When people say our stuff looks like CGI it's such a high compliment :) Yeah it looks great even now, but I think it can look even better haha
Saaaame I thought it was a test footage or a reference footage or something.
@@herotechwas it enhanced using vfx, even if it was still impressive
I am a 40 year veteran of the prop building industry and I must you have come up with a very innovative solution to the age old problem of the retractable lightsaber. Well done!!!
Thank you!! That means a lot coming from you, so much respect for the prop building industry
I’m honestly fine with the side looking semi like a darksaber cause the design is SICKKK 🔥🔥
Ahahaha thank you!!! Maybe we'll actually make a darksaber version lol
There's a Disney Imagineer somewhere very mad you made this. No doubt a DIY is more affordable than what they would charge eventually at Galxys Edge. Great work!!!
Thank you!!! Hopefully they aren’t too mad 👀
@@herotech meh.. who cares Disney has made millions of people mad 😡
Feels like I’ve been waiting on a lightsaber design like this my whole life 😭.
As a recent engineering graduate, seeing what you guys do is really inspirational and has me excited about getting into the industry and hopefully be apart of a team just as clever!
Thank you! And congrats on graduating as well!!
keep up the "web shooter that actually lets me swing" project, I'd love to see the completion
Thinking of ways to move forward! Built IRL has done a fantastic job with his already though
How about building a wall covered in gecko tape and recording a bunch of people climbing on it, with a specific interest in studying their contact points so that you can make a real spider suit?@@herotech
@@herotechthe most important question: will it keel?
Interesting! Not sure if gecko tape would hold people tbh
@@herotech Yes, they hold up very well, so much so that the channel "the action lab" has already made a video putting them on gloves and trying to climb walls... However, I don't know if they would still have all that strength when thrown, I think the shot would not put enough pressure to fix it and allow it to swing
Disney: we have the world’s first fully retractable, LED light saber. You have to pay to see it.
Herotech:
🥳🥳
Yeah you just schooled Disney
I like the Disney version a lot too!
Disney can't even swing theirs around they just hold it gently straight up
@@themedinamediayall hating on the brand like the engineers that actually made it did anything wrong to yall lmao
Funny enough, spinning the blade with reflective material on it is exactly how they achieved the pulsing, flickering effect on the original lightsabers in 1977.
Paying homage to the OG design 🫡
Ok, this is just too good. I am so excited to see what comes next!!
Thanks man!!
The end product is very cool! Fantastic video as well. Can't wait to see where the lightsaber and channel goes from here
Thank you so much!!
So impressive. I love that you take such an iconic artifact and use your creativity and ingenuity to create this new millennium version. Wishing you continued success!
Thank you!! Will continue improving it :)
What a fantastic work dear Jacob , congratulations to you and your team, I’m also so glad to finally find a video about the possibility to build my own lightsaber than hasn’t to be 4 years or more old. Like the dream died long ago, and here you are. Young pleople. Probably half my age creating one. A as I’ll keep an eye on your work , I m still trying to build my own one. You are a great inspiration. Big respect and thanks.
Thank you so much! Will continue improving this design, making it better and easier to make at home 🫡
When me and my friend were graduating high school around 2000, we planned about this. One of my friends did end up building an engineering draft, but we weren’t able to develop it further. Seeing you guys pull it off really fires me up to call my buds up to start working on it again. Congratulations and thanks for sharing your process! And also congrats on graduating! 😊
That's awesome, glad to hear that y'all were thinking about this too and that you want to start working on it again! And thank you for the well wishes :)
The Mouse ain’t gonna like this one.
What’s this I hear about the purity rings?????
IYKYK
They should not have ruined Star Wars
@@Niaaal They own it.
They can do whatever they want with it
Disney's retractable lightsaber was developed in 2018 or earlier and was first demonstrated in March 2023 at SXSW by Josh D'Amaro, the Chairman of Disney Parks and Experiences.
@@DisneyCorpsmannow what haha
Insane that you were the first to do this and that (besides all the brilliant engineering) the design is as simple as an led strip and a magicians wand. Amazing work by all three of you
Thank you!! Happy to see people appreciate all the engineering that makes simple designs work
They weren't the first, Hacksmith already made one about.. three years ago?
@@Anixerusyou mean that blowtorch thing 😂?
@@dutchuniverseas if this is any better😂
@@OfficialGw22 at least it extends to a consistent length
Heyyy!!! good to see you back! And face reveal??!? What!!!?! super crazy bro!
This was such a clever idea. I bet Disney is taking notes as we speak!
Can’t wait to see more videos from you!congratulations on graduating!🎉
Thanks so much man! I appreciate it and looking out for more videos from you too!
@@herotech we still gotta do our collab on the TASM 2 shooters. 😢
True!! Been so busy lately but now that I've graduated I should hopefully have more time in the coming months haha
Dude as someone who has watched star wars for about 28 yrs. And watched episodes 4 when I was 6.
I have to say this is the kewlest damn thing I have seen. Even compared to the tungsten lightsaber that actually gets hot. I would Def like to get my hands on one of these....keep up the killer work!
Thank you so much!!! That means a lot, will continue improving this design :)
Hey the video is super cool, congrats on solving the challenge.
Didn’t go through all of the other comments but 1 suggestion would be to add an accelerometer and tie that input into the hum of a lightsaber when it gets waved around.
It would be a real enhancement and give a totally engaging sensation and compliment the great light effect that you achieved.
Cheers on such a great project.
Interested in the final finished item.
Best of luck.
Thank you for the kind words and suggestion! Our proffieboard actually has an accelerometer, we just need to make use of it :) will continue improving this!
That is coming along amazingly, can't wait to see more from this project. The force is strong with this one.
Thanks so much! Happy to keep working more on it :)
The fact it isn’t edited but looks like it is, that’s awesome dude, Disney could never compete.
Without visionaries like you 3, and with the know how to bring it to fruition, we wouldn't have even half the incredible things that exist. You did a fantastic job so far and cant wait to see how much further you all take it.
Congrats on your graduation 🎓 and keep aiming high. You will change the world in truly wonderful ways.
Thank you so much for your kind words!!! It really means a lot to us. Will continue working to turn fiction into reality :)
Fantastic work. Had to drop out of highschool to take care of my grandmother. Had i made to college, i feel like this is exactly what i would have attempted to do. Definitely earned a sub, and look forward to future developments!
Thank you for the kind words! Hope your grandmother is okay, it’s great that you take good care of your family. Will continue improving this and sharing the design!
We will watch your career with great interest!
That's awesome! Being able to swing it like that already seems to surpass the prototype Disney showed off some time ago, which while it is impressive, didn't seem to be capable of moderate swinging. I can't wait to see how this project goes, along with anything else you guys have! I'm on the hook! You are all absolutely going places... and congratulations on graduating!
I'd love to see a short choreographed duel with two of these sabers, just for the fun of it!
Thanks Chancellor :) and thank you so much for the kind words. Yeah I kept waiting for footage of the Disney prototype being swung or even light dueling but sadly I'm not sure if their design can take the forces. We'll keep improving our design and keep everyone updated. Once we have two of these sabers a choreographed duel is definitely in the cards!
@@herotech It was really cool to see a retractable lightsaber but it almost looked as if the blade swayed back and forth, and he looked very careful not to move it too much. That's to be expected on an early prototype, but I really wonder what their goal is with it! Hopefully they will be able to refine it well enough for some light dueling!
I can't wait to see future updates on your projects, give everyone on the team a pat on the back hahaha
@@corellioncrusaderproductio4679 Totally agreed! Excited to see what Disney comes up with, with their infinite resources ahahaha. Thank you again!
You can also do a light pike. Larger piece to work with which means you have more room for inner workings
True! I personally prefer the lightsaber small form factor but the pike is pretty cool
Has to be the coolest thing i've seen all year! Keep up the amazing work Herotech!
Thank you so much!!
I have only seen one Star Wars movie and I am very impressed with your light saber. The sky is the limit for you guys. Keep making your dreams come true!
Thank you so much! Will keep working at it :)
i def gotta show this to my dad, he is such a big star wars fan. i know he will LOVE seeing this! this is just amazing!
Thanks so much, glad you like it!!
I honestly am glad you put videos of the build...I would not have known it was not CGI. Amazing job once again!
Thank you, glad you liked it!
This is so well done for the difficulty it presents! Can't wait to see how it turns out on the upgrades 🌌
Thank you!!
So, @9:48 you brought tears of joy to an old man's eyes! I've considered some of the other options mentioned for various reasons but the idea of hiding the tube until just the right moment (Cons and such) never appealed to me. Now, I'm glad I waited! This is doable and much more appealing to my "DIY" self. I'm sure my wife will understand why I suddenly had to purchase a 3D printer. "Subbed" of course!
Thank you so much!!! That means a lot, glad you liked the project and we’ll continue making it even better 🙏
Wow! This is definitely a turning point in lightsabers. I can't wait to see how yall improve the lightsaber! 👍
We're going to make it as real as possible :)
You just laid the foundation for others to build off of your idea. Kudos to you. I can only imagine how excited you are! Good luck in your career.
Thank you so much! Yep excited to see what people come up with with the shared designs
This is incredible. I can't wait to see where this project goes, it looks like it could be the future of consumer cosplay & trick sabers for sure.
Excited to see progress on the web shooters too! Keep it up 😊
Thank you so much! Excited to keep developing this and pushing it further :)
Glad to see you posting again! This was an amazing project and I love the thought process break down. The webshooters were super cool but the versatility in doing other projects is something I can't wait to see more of!
Thank you so much and thank you for watching my videos all this time! Very appreciated and happy to know that y'all enjoy other science fiction projects as well
Spinning is actually what they did in the original lightsaber effect. They used fluorescent tape on a long rod, attach that to a Dremel and the dremel to an old camera flashlight and put a light directly over the camera. This is a huge step to actual realistic lightsabers with no vfx!!!
Paying homage to the 1977 original 🙏
it's what they TRIED to do to keep it as an in-camera effect. They ultimately decided it didn't work and roto'd an optical effect over it in post. There's some footage floating around of the un-roto'd shots and it doesn't look great.
@@Fafhrd42 Damn, at least they had reference 😂😭😭
I have been working on something like this for the last 5 years now. Nice to see a different approach.
Would love to see yours too!
Dude sick build! always a pleasure watching you man!
Thank you!!!
Sweet! So glad to see y'all finished the project! It's come a long way from PIE! Thanks for letting me work on it a little bit in the early days :)
Thanks so much Kat!!! Was really great working with you
The boy did it!!!
hehehe
I love it, I actually gave up on a similar design that used an extendable staff I'm so happy you made it work it even inspired me to retry (promise I won't steal the same design) Also thanks for introducing the team.
Thank you!! And you’re totally welcome to use the same design/modify or improve upon it! Super cool to hear you had a similar idea with this
The funny part is their hilt is just as gigantic despite him saying it’s to scale 😂
Ahahahaha still trying to make it thinner 😭
Well, the lightsabers in the Acolyte are pretty much right on par with the size seen here. So, I am all for it. The only improvements beyond what HeroTech mentioned in the last part of the video would be increasing the extension/retraction rates and reducing, if possible, the gear noises. I see that as like a 4.0 model, but man this looks awesome.
I have a question, how well does it stand up to hitting things? I would want one but I want to actually try dueling with it.
The steel cane structure holds up pretty well, but the led strips can only take so much impact damage
The props in the original Star Wars had spinning blades to reflect light for their very basic effects. FYI; Disney hilts might be official, but they are not screen accurate to the ones used in the movies. The movie ones are between one and one and a half inches in diameter.
Someone knows their stuff :) The original spinning blades were one of the inspirations to have the blade structure not only be reflective metal but also to spin and create the POV effect. Yeah still trying to make the hilt thinner, making them out of metal should help with that but it will also take longer and be more expensive haha
I wonder if you’re gonna need such powerful leds now that there will be a spinning factor.
I wonder too! Will definitely test and see :)
Nice Saber!
Instead of spinning the LEDs, which could cause more heat to be generated in the saber, could an inflatable, opaque plastic tube work? Similar to an Inflatable Robot Snake. It can be inflated by pumping air into it, or just thought the LEDs pushing it out (however this could cause the tube to be loose/floppy) and then deflated by attaching it to the LEDs at the tip of the saber (so when it retracts the tube is pulled down) and then a fan or vacuum system to aid in pulling and loose bits back into the hilt.
This might not work though I know very little about engineering
That might work as well! Yes as another option we’re exploring some kind of transparent material that goes over the LEDs to diffuse the light and make the blade solid, however there are some challenges to that as you can imagine haha
I would love to see something like this be finalized and mass produced.
This is amazing! One thing I would love to see is a faster retraction, a smaller hilt, and a silent retraction as well. I can't wait to see what you guys do next.
Totally agree, working on all those right now :)
10:38 God dang bro. You got some moves.
Ahahahaha thank you!
Do not put the Lord's name in vain
Congrats. Good luck. I am not mechanically inclined and too ADD to tackle this. I'll be happy to buy the finished product when it's ready. I wish you the best.
Thanks for the well wishes! Will continue improving it and sharing the design!
spinning the blade to make the glowing effect was the first way of making a lightsaber in the movies.... funny that its sort of like poetry they rhyme
Paying homage to the OG!
Omg can’t wait for a version that will extend and retract faster ! Awesome work guys !
Thank you! Working on it :)
I really hope Disney doesn't step on these kids for outdoing them
If Disney is smart they’ll hire these kids or buy them out.
Disney can't do shit to them unless they commercialize the product. Even then they can just call it "lazer sword" and Disney legally can't touch them. There's a reason Disney couldn't touch Gundam series' beam sabers, as long as the hilt design is different they're SOL.
@@benjaminperez7328lmao except they have prototypes that far exceed this home made kit.
@@icisz
Was it really that funny what I said?
Are you dumb?
Very well done. I am very impressed. The only thing that needs adjustment is the speed of the blade, but it seems you guys are working on the major upgrades.
Thank you!! Yep, working on that as we speak :)
Gotta make it extend and retract faster and quiet down the sound of the motor.
Agreed :)
Incredibly impressive! Congrats on this build. Looking forward to see your progress as you refine the design.
Thank you so much! Excited to keep refining it.
I wouldn't be surprised if Disney calls you. I know they came up with their own lightsaber, and I wonder how similar it is to your design. Good Luck with everything!
Thank you! Would love to collab with Disney haha
Incredible work! This is gonna change cosplay and prop making forever now that you’ve released the base recipe online. Also I’ve learned recently that the original lightsaber sound was from a projector motor so maybe you could incorporate that into the high speed spinning mechanism so there’s no need for a soundboard. Or at least for the humming sound
Thank you and thank you for your suggestion! I didn’t know that, that’s pretty cool! We’ll see what we can do/what we can fit into the hilt now that we’re trying to make it thinner as well
By far the most impressive lightsaber I’ve seen thus far! Great job guys
Thank you so much!!
Hacksmith’s is better ngl
@@slipperyant7199 Been watching Hacksmith for years, but it’s just a big plasma cutter, it doesn’t look like a lightsaber, this does
I was 10 years old when the first Star Wars movie came out. I dreamed of a lightsaber in my hand. I built a cardboard into a long cylindrical hilt with a small flashlight inside. Sadly, no blade, lol. It was fun!! Until I saw this and you brought back my dream again. I would love to see this happened so I can get my hands on your hilt with expandable and retractable blade. I am hoping to see in aquagreen/aquamarine color blade, if that's possible. Thank you for building it!! Star Wars rules!!! HeroTech rules!!!
Thank you so much!!! Will continue improving this as much as possible 🫡
I find it strange that Disney is now releasing their retractable lightsaber shortly after this video has blown up…
I’m always amazed by engineering folks who do what they do. The amount of left brain work these geniuses do is just incredible. I am totally not inclined that way and have awe and respect for these folks. My own brother is one!
Thank you so much!!!
Disney already did this with some tape measures 😂
Spinning the blade is a brilliant idea, and would replicate how the saber looked like in ANH more than anything. The original lightsaber prop was a spinning rod of reflective projection screen material that bounced the stage lights making the bright shimmering blade.
Thank you! Yes really happy with the effect it could produce. Paying homage to the original 🙏
Maybe you could develop your own company and sell a bunch of them
I like how you actually did cool things with the saber instead of holding it and swinging like you've never held one like disney does. Also I'm exited to see were this goes already on camera looks AMAZING. Waiting for when i can break my brothers fingers in a duel with one of these!
Thank you!! Still working on improvements!
“This is a real lightsaber!” *isn’t a real lightsaber*
Make one yourself then and see how you do
@@wolfsorrow100 what does this have to do with anything 😭
@@CAVECATART well you are criticizing others work lets see you do better
@@wolfsorrow100 I’m not criticizing it I’m saying he lied in the title 💀
@@CAVECATART how did they? disney who owns the whole brand calls a light up plastic tube on the end on a handle a lightsaber. so this is literally a video "building a real retractable lightsaber" if you think this is "lying" you going to have alot of fun on the internet
When seeing those adds for metal retractable personal defense staffs I thought to myself. That's how they should do lightsabers. I was planning on buying one. And making a neopixel type lightsaber for myself. Then I see this video! And you guys did the hard work for me thank you! Saves me a lot time myself by researching videos like this.
Glad that we could help! Will continue improving and sharing the design :)
HACKSMITH WHO?
Hahahah
making the speed faster and spinning the blade will make it PERFECT!! this is awesome!
Agreed!!
Please. Sell these. What you’re doing. We will be reading of you. You already changed the future. Im a cop in Florida and your in my news feed to read about. I just read your articles. Watches your video. I’m subscribed. You had my money. I need 10 sabers. 5 Jedi. 5 dark side. AND I’m a black guy….do not stop losing sleep to accomplish your dreams. Anything is possible through God. May he bless you! You’re up next.
Thank you so much!! Will keep working and improving this 🙏
I was born May 25 1977 ❤ I'm absolutely blown away.
May The Force Be With You!
Glad you liked it!!! Thanks for watching
After a few months Disney will steal your idea and then copy strike you guys 😂 .
😭😭
Yes, the spinning blade is the final missing piece of the project. Genius👌 From that the LED strip can be smaller or become a small string that can give better mechanical parts. Depending on the spinning speed blade can extend or retract. Just the idea for V.2. Great work team 🎉🎉🎉
Thank you!! Working on it as we speak :)
Making it spin and come out faster will literally make this so good. Subscribed! I can't wait to see the next vid.
Thank you!!! Working on it :)
A truly wonderful display of idea to concept and concept to fabrication. Keep up the excellent work work, I am very impressed by your workmanship and by your resilient attitude when it came to the inevitable fall downstairs and engineering challenges. Well don't to you all, can't wait to see the improvements that you mentioned. Thanks for sharing and all the best to you all for your futures, they took look very bright. Congratulations
Thank you so much! Really appreciate the kind words. Glad that you enjoyed the engineering journey, and will work hard to implement the saber improvements!
ライトセーバーはジェダイそれぞれが自分用にカスタムを作成すると聞きますが、この動画で一人のジェダイがセーバーを組み上げる素晴らしい軌跡を拝見しました。若きジェダイ・マスターよ、フォースと共にあれ。
Thank you so much! I hope one day you too will assemble your own lightsaber
Such a great video you guys put together! Seeing it go from planning, testing, brilliant execution... it's inspiring to see ya'll not giving up and creating something that feels unbelievable.
Keep it up
Thank you so much!!! Your kind words really mean a lot to us. Will continue improving it and sharing it!
Incredible 🤯! The three of you managed to accomplish what other established first and third party companies failed at. Amazing!
Thank you so much!!! Will continue improving it :)
@@herotech no problem 😉!
for a version 2 id suggest having a heavy duty fishing line to pull the magic cane back down in sync with the led strip tension as i personally think the rubbing back and forth will end up breaking the leds over time , also it would smooth out the extension and retraction of the blade if across 2 motors instead
Good idea! Definitely need to find a way to reduce strain on the LEDs over time
Bro at first I was skeptical as hell but as the video kept going it became a beatiful work of art. Even though its not combat ready and not a plasma based one like the hacksmith team did its really cool to se a realistic and safe option made
Thank you so much!!
The end made me smile so much.
Also the spinning is how they made the original lightsabers in 1977!
Really cool what I would love to see is you being able to smash two together because even Disney can't do that.
But your video is Inspiring and fun and I loved seeing the process.
Thank you!! Will keep improving it, and paying homage to the original 1977 ones :)
question: although you didn't mention it in the video will the next version of the saber have a quieter motor because at this current phase that is my biggest problem with it.
Yep! Along with speeding it up speccing a new motor should help with the noise. We also are upping the volume on the board and using a more powerful speaker
@@herotech awesome! I better subscribe so I don't miss it then! Lol.
That’s what’s up! Thought I’ve never see the day someone actually makes one that retracts from its case.
Thank you! We’re still making it better :)
Easiest sub of my life. I can't wait until you guys add to this project.
Thank you! Working on it :)
That's very awesome! Way to help level up the sci-fi world of Star Wars!!
Thank you!! Will continue to do so 🫡
A very cool build indeed ! If I'm not mistaken the "spining effect" was the one used during the making of the original trilogy. That would be dope and funny if you could apply it to your saber. A cool hat tip to the past.
Exactly what we were thinking! Paying homage to the original 🫡
this is so sick, and I hope that in the future there will be a version it's possible to duel with because then we would really get the full experience
Agreed! Working on improving it!
The spinning trick is how the lightsabers were originally done - they were triangular in cross-section, covered with reflective tape, and spun using a motor in the hilt to reflect the lights on-set. You can see this best in the original theatrical cut of Star Wars (before it was A New Hope) when the sabers are pointed towards the camera. Only later did they start painting the effect on in post. (In the sequel trilogy, and the Disney+ series, they used sabers very much like the third party sabers you can buy now to project light on-set.)
Nice!! Paying homage to the original 🫡
Yo hero tech quick question how do you guys get the cane to retract back down cuz u have to spin it and pulling it with like fishing wire doesn’t pull it down please help
There is an opening in the lightsaber hilt that lets you manually spin the cane while its retracting, in the next version we’re testing a motor that can do this automatically 👍
Hearing the coming fixes at the end sounds really promising! Can't wait to see
Thank you! Working on them currently :)
Hats off to you, you did what disney couldn't. May the force be with you! 😉
Thank you!! May the force be with you too, will continue improving it :)
as a neopixel lightsaber fanatic, super cool to see your employment of the proffie board
Thanks!! Excited to use more of its functionality
I saw Star Wars on opening day back in 1977 and when I saw Luke's lightsaber I recognized it because I owned a Graphlex Flashgun which was the basis of Luke's lightsaber. I went home dug it up from my basement and started to think about how to make it work like a real lightsaber. It just so happened that my father owned a magic shop and we sold the magician's appearing cane. I rigged it up to the front of the flashgun and made it work by pressing the button on the flashgun so it would release the appearing cane. It didn't light up or make a sound but I brought it to a science fiction convention in NY and sold it to someone for $100. I then went to every camera store in Manhattan and bought up as many old used Graflex Flashguns as I could find for about $5 each and brought them to the next convention and sold them. I still have one of the original flash guns to this day. What you and your people created is absolutely incredible. You should patent it and try to sell it to Disney.
That’s so awesome!!! Always exciting to hear other people had the same idea at different times. What a coincidence that your father owned a magic shop and that you owned a graphlex flashgun!
*Impressive. Most impressive.* The spinning effect gives it that distinctive flicker and creates the illusion of a solid beam of light. But, you're going to run into problrms with combating the centripetal force trying to pull the LED strip away from the tensioner as it reaches full length. Friction and any accidental contact with the spinning rod are going to be an issue too. If there's a way, your best bet will be to recreate the clear magician's kain on a larger scale as a protective covering that will extend with and over the inner core and contain the strip.
Thank you! Totally agree that as we speed up, we’re fighting the centripetal force that will make the led strip look more like a globe than a cylinder haha. We’re hoping at a sweet spot of 1200RPM, it’s enough to create the POV effect but not too fast that the led strips pull away from the cane - we’ll see! We are also exploring adding a second diffusion layer like you mentioned :)
@@herotech , What you've done already is really cool. You've managed to pull off a great effect similar to Disney's version. But where theirs may extend faster, Theirs can't retract on its own like yours, and you did it in what appears to be a smaller package. Disney's hilt looks almost comically oversized. If you're able to speed yours up *and* put it in a smaller hilt, that will be quite the achievement. I really hope you're able to come up with a protective defusion layer to protect all the working parts.
I have a feeling that the next problem you'll want to address will be a way of cooling the whole thing. I believe you'll be able to save a lot of room inside if you can find a way to have a custom board made to replace some circuitry and a good amount of the wiring inside. Smaller modular connectors would be so much easier to fit in such a small package, and it might even make enough room for some kind of ducted cooling fan in the pummel.
I'm curious. What if you were to try using addressable LEDs? That way you could program them to only come on once they unwind from the spool, and would turn off in succession as they're wound back up to keep them from cooking the parts, and from cooking themselves. That might be more than you would want to mess with and might require more circuitry that you have room to fit inside, though. And, they may not be available in 12V, or be as bright as the ones you're using. Just figured it might be worth thinking about.
Great work so far! Really well done. Can't wait to see the follow-up.
Thank you ahahaha! Yep definitely looking to speed ours up and make the hilt even thinner. Definitely agree with your point about the cooling - with some initial thermal tests, the main concern is the LED strip. Big failure mode is when all of the strip is on the spool and the strip is turned on without extending the blade: lots of heat, nowhere to dissipate effectively.
Part of the problem is the slow extension, which hopefully switching to a more powerful motor can lessen the time that all the LED strip is spent cooped up in the hilt together. Love the point about the addressable LEDs as well, that would definitely be another solution - as you've pointed out, it just comes down to whether we can spec ones that are as bright/durable as the ones we are currently using.
Now part of what gets me excited about spinning the internal chassis is that hopefully, at that speed we can actually effectively air cool the LED strip: instead of a fan where we move air over the strips to dissipate heat, we are moving the strips over the air to do so :) Would need to provide some ducts in the pommel/hilt design itself to allow for airflow but hopefully those same ducts can be used for the soundboard/speaker to allow for better sound projection. Of course this doesn't work as well if we have the diffusion layer over it, but definitely something to be explored IMO.
Thanks for the feedback/input, love reading these comments!
To make it more real, the magician's stick you used can be coated in a phosphor material that when a charge is applied, will make it glow. You could always reprint it in a clear material and put the led strip in it, or a very bright emitter at the lower end to light it from the inside.
Good idea! Something to look into