Collapsing Darth Maul (two sided) lightsaber

A collapsing lightsaber, model Darth Maul, based on @3DPrintingWorld original idea. The hilt is designed from scratch, but the blade can be re-used. Designed using FreeCAD, the project file as well as my own FreeCAD template are included.

There are two variants of the hilt - with buttons separated and one complete (in case you want to eg. colour it yourself).

Either way, you will need 2x body, 2x latch, 1x the two-sided cap, [if you print separated - 2x the back button, 4+4x the grated one] and 2x full blade.

Print the body parts with your usual print settings, while favouring strength (3 perimeters, ~15% infill, maybe print a little hotter).

I got the best result for the blade with the following settings (PLA):
-Vase mode - use the individual blade segment models with VASE in their name, not the combined one
-extrusion width 0.88mm (but still using 0.4mm nozzle, helps push layers together, 0.6mm nozzle would also work)
-layer heigth 0.4mm
-elevated temp 230°C (better extrusion and layer adhesion)
-max cooling
-print slow, I set minimum layer time 4s
-proper brim (5-10mm) is necessary
-keep the original orientation!
(the end touching the printbed gets wider - elephant foot effect, which would cause trouble on the end that is meant to lock inside the hilt or the other segments, but is fine on the end that will end up outside).

You might want to experiment a bit with the blade wall width, it is a tradeoff between length and sturdiness of the blade - i favour strength, going thinner will give longer blade (less segment overlap), but the segments need to hold together reliably, not fall through.
Printing it out of PETG might give you better durability.

You will need to bridge the bottom of the cap and print some 70° overhangs in the model, but with any half-decent cooling it should be no problem.

Even for the variant with buttons separated, I suggest not printing the body using material change to get the black bands, but simply colour the appropriate bands using a permanent black marker (with a sticky tape delimiting the edges of the black part), or any other method you deem fit. This will greatly reduce the risk of breaking the hilt at the colour change layers.

Due to it's two-sided nature, I had to implement a latch mechanism to keep the blades from extending unless desired. Otherwise it's quite impossible to just carry it without extending. I suggest to print the latch from PETG (transparent looks good) to get better layer adhesion, it has a bit higher risk of breaking with PLA (but still works).

If you want to be able to quickly split it into two parts, check out this remix: https://www.printables.com/cs/model/792888-2-piece-darth-maul-caps

Print Settings

Printer Brand:

Creality

Printer:

Ender 3

Rafts:

Supports:

Resolution:

0.1 body, 0.4 blade

Category: Props

Collapsing Darth Maul (two sided) lightsaber

by Tomaskom · original on Printables ↗

Costumes & Accessories / Props

♥ 210⬇ 1.6k🖨 13 prints

License: Creative Commons — Attribution — Noncommercial ↗lightsaberthingiverse

Print profiles

ButtonGrated_98p.stl
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Latch.stl
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ButtonBack_98p.stl
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BLADE-4-VASE.stl
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BLADE-5-VASE.stl
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Cap_TwoSided.stl
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BLADE-1-VASE.stl
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LIGHTSABER-BLADE.stl
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Body.stlDEFAULT
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BLADE-3-VASE.stl
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BLADE-2-VASE.stl
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Body-ButonCut.stl
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