Build your own Star Wars lightsaber prop
A Star Wars lightsaber prop would be the most coveted item in any geek’s collection, but with the risk of being sliced in half by its blade, we’re not sure we’d be willing to take on such a project. Thankfully, with the power of a Raspberry Pi RP2040, an Adafruit RP2040 Prop-Maker Feather, and more, you can build your own without the danger. The lightsaber looks and sounds like the real deal, but it’s totally safe thanks to some nifty tech.
Adafruit’s build guide demonstrates how to create your very own lightsaber prop, complete with LEDs for some cool lighting effects and a built-in speaker for some Star Wars-themed sounds. It can be used with a variety of colors, and you can even choose audio-based indicators to let you know when the device is on, low battery, and more.
The project uses an Adafruit RP2040 Prop-Maker Feather, which is essentially a microcontroller board that can be used to create a variety of prop-based projects. It comes with a built-in rechargeable battery, a slide button for on/off control, and a push button that can be used to change modes. It’s quite the handy little device.
The 3D printable housing is also available to download on the Adafruit website, and you’ll also need an LED strip, speaker module, and more. All of the software is open source, too, so you can create your own project bundle for coding the lightsaber. A demo video on YouTube demonstrates the lightsaber in action, so check it out below.
If you’re interested in creating your very own Star Wars lightsaber prop, check out Adafruit’s build guide here. The project does require quite a few parts, but it does allow for quite a bit of customization and modifications, so you should be able to make it your own.
