Creating a Lightsaber: A DIY Project Inspired by Disney's Patent Application

As a fan of science and technology, I recently stumbled upon an interesting patent application from Disney that sparked my curiosity about creating a lightsaber-inspired model. The idea is to build a prop that mimics the iconic Star Wars lightsaber, complete with LED lights and a hilt made of various materials.

I decided to embark on this project, even though I'm not an engineer by any stretch. I've always been fascinated by science and technology, and watching Bill Nye's shows as a kid has instilled in me a sense of curiosity about how things work. So, with the help of my friend who helped me pop into Target to find some materials, we set out to create our own DIY lightsaber.

The first step was to gather the necessary materials. We needed a strip of LEDs that could unspool quickly to create the illusion of a lightsaber blade shooting out. I picked up a roll of these at any hardware store, and we also found two halves of a cylinder to serve as the outer shell of our lightsaber. The third spool was a strip of LED lights on the inside, which would surround the LED strip and give it a more authentic look. We also needed some lightweight plastic that could keep its shape but be slightly bendable, so we ended up getting a roll of that too.

Next, we turned on our LED strip to test its functionality. When we did, we were thrilled to see how well it worked! The idea was that you would just spool the LEDs tightly together, then have two halves of a cylinder unspool out and overlap to surround them. However, when I showed the model in half to demonstrate what could be involved in getting this right, I realized just how complex the process is.

To complete our lightsaber hilt, we needed something to attach at the top of all three elements so that they could spool up and down together seamlessly. Disney described this as a "little end cap," which I had trouble finding. We ended up using plastic buttons for cables and ping-pong balls to create a makeshift end cap, but it was clear that this component needed to be improved.

With the end cap in place, we could start thinking about how to diffuse the light so that it wouldn't be too harsh or overwhelming. I found a small mat under the sink that served this purpose perfectly. The final step was adding some decorative touches – we used a lightsaber candlestick holder as our hilt, which gave us a more authentic look.

To bring our DIY lightsaber to life, all we needed was a little bit of sound effect. We recorded a hum similar to what you'd hear from a real lightsaber, and voilà! Our prop had transformed into a convincing replica of the iconic Star Wars light saber. I tested it out on my kid friends, who were both amazed by its authenticity and slightly intimidated by how realistic it looked.

Now that we've completed our DIY project, I'm curious to know if anyone else has attempted something similar. According to Disney, this prop is intended for use as a guest experience at their Star Wars Galactic Star Cruiser theme park. Guests will have the chance to interact with characters like Rey and others, wielding their own lightsabers throughout the ship's journey.

Of course, not everyone can afford or access these themed experiences – that's why I was excited to learn about an alternative option available in Disney's theme park land, Galaxy's Edge. Visitors can even have their own lightsaber built, choosing their favorite Kyber crystal and customizing it to their heart's content. These lightsabers are priced at around $200, but for those who want a more unique experience, the DIY route is still an attractive option.

As I reflect on our project, I'm reminded that sometimes the most creative solutions come from experimenting with different materials and ideas. Who knows? Maybe one day someone will develop a prototype of this very lightsaber prop using advanced technology or innovative manufacturing techniques. Until then, I'll just keep tinkering with my DIY creation, fueled by the Force... or at least, tape.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: endisney has made a real lightsaber and it's inspired by this technology disney just released this incredible video of an actual glowing and extending real-life lightsaber made by the walt disney imaginary research and development team and this lightsaber is going to be used by characters inside the star wars hotel experience which is called galactic star cruiser and that opens in 2022 at the walt disney world resort in florida but word about this real lightsaber had the internet buzzing weeks before i remember it well i'm on my computer when the news breaks and everyone loses their minds back then there was no video proof they did it all we knew was a select group of reporters saw it at a stream presentation for a quick moment so how did disney do it how do they make a lightsaber look real i've gathered up some clues and i am going to show you how disney likely pulled off this feat of engineering first of all when we say real lightsaber it's probably not real as in an actual laser sword that can chop off your limbs yeah death weapons wouldn't be good for business at a theme park to find out exactly what disney revealed in this video presentation i needed to talk to someone who saw it for herself ace theme park reporter carly weisel host of the podcast very amusing with carly weisel it's so funny because this entire situation feels like i saw a ufo i was in a digital press conference meeting and at the very very tail end disney parks chairman josh demaro whipped out a lightsaber no one was expecting this he had this hilt that what it didn't look like a regular lightsaber hilt again from the two second memory i have it was more of a box it seemed wider and a little bigger but a full like a zoom a lightsaber appeared and it happened so quickly i couldn't clock how it was coming out of the hill how it was working what was happening and then he said it's real because he knew that we'd be sitting there going i'm sorry what's happening when i saw you freak out on twitter i had to like look up what was going on that's when we started to see okay there's a patent out there i'm studying the patent these are led lights with gears and something that's you know kind of coming out of the hilt but you didn't see it go back in the hill it was just like coming out of the hill right i don't believe i saw the lightsaber go back in but i also i have to mention i cannot confirm that what i saw is what that patent is the way you would see it in the films where there's nothing and then there's a weapon it kind of happened that quick details of a lightsaber concept are in a patent application so this is something disney has been tinkering with for some time tucked inside the handle or what you would call the hilt of the light sword there are three materials rolled up into three different spools there are two halves of a cylinder that make up the outside shell which extended is about 30 inches long and a third spool is a strip of led lights on the inside it could be anywhere from four to seven feet of leds which all unspool quickly together to make it look like the light blade is shooting out you know why don't i just show you let's go shopping let's see what i can find customer needs assistance in self-checkout okay there's just one more thing i want to get i'm just gonna pop into target really quick okay so maybe i got more than one thing but i got one thing for the project i need i have a bad feeling about this but we're gonna try it anyway so i am not an engineer by any stretch i mean i did win my middle school science fair and watched a lot of bill nye as a kid but i wanted to make a model to show you some of the materials that could be involved in this so the lights inside would be a strip of leds and you can pick this up at any hardware store let's turn it on whoa there we go now the idea is that you would just spool this up really tight i'm a fan of purple to create a tube you're getting two halves of a cylinder to unspool out and you want some sort of like lightweight plastic that can keep its shape but it is a little bendable so it could curl up and you know it's going to also overlap to surround the led light so even though it looks like a lightsaber already i am going to cut it in half to show what could be going on in that patent so you have a lot happening at once three different things spooling out together when you actually hold it you can kind of tell how much is going to be involved in getting it right we're getting there one of the components that it needs is something for to be attached at the top of all three elements so that way when it jumps out and retracts back in they're all coming and leaving at the same time and it's described as a little end cap let's build a little end cap so i got like these plastic buttons for cables and ping pong ball but i gotta cut this in half how do you cut a ping-pong ball i should be wearing gloves or something i don't know what i'm doing this seems dangerous this thing has to come out really fast you know it sounds a little bit like a tape measure too oh there's no way i'm going to be able to actually roll it up but could maybe show you what it would look like at the end result i'm going to stay so i am using clear plastic which means you can see all the led lights individually shining and they need something to diffuse that this is like a mat you would put under the sink all right and for the finishing touch i do have this decorative lightsaber candlestick holder i will use as my hilt wait how am i going to get this in here tape now all you need is a little bit of a sound effect and you have yourself a real lightsaber it's it's like this more or less let's see if this passes the kid test what does it look like a light table maybe what does it do it's like a lightsaber right i made this it's awesome does it look real no why you have a lot of teeth because it's the only way i could keep it together how does this compare to the toy you have kind of squishy i think it's cool which one's the better lightsaber both of them both of them would you find something like this for sale well that is interesting question because you need to make it tough enough to take people messing with it turn it up and down a jillion times but right now disney is saying this is a prop for entertainment the guests of the star wars galactic star cruiser will be the first to see characters like ray wheel this lightsaber around the ship as guests travel the galaxy in a two-day two-night stay now if you want to make your own light saber there is another experience in the theme park land galaxy's edge you can have your own lightsaber built and pick out your own kyber crystal now those light sabers are about two hundred dollars and of course the saber part doesn't move if you want something that retracts there's always this version or you could use your imagination and the force which i like to call tape yes this is this is oh i'm so sorry disney i'm so sorrydisney has made a real lightsaber and it's inspired by this technology disney just released this incredible video of an actual glowing and extending real-life lightsaber made by the walt disney imaginary research and development team and this lightsaber is going to be used by characters inside the star wars hotel experience which is called galactic star cruiser and that opens in 2022 at the walt disney world resort in florida but word about this real lightsaber had the internet buzzing weeks before i remember it well i'm on my computer when the news breaks and everyone loses their minds back then there was no video proof they did it all we knew was a select group of reporters saw it at a stream presentation for a quick moment so how did disney do it how do they make a lightsaber look real i've gathered up some clues and i am going to show you how disney likely pulled off this feat of engineering first of all when we say real lightsaber it's probably not real as in an actual laser sword that can chop off your limbs yeah death weapons wouldn't be good for business at a theme park to find out exactly what disney revealed in this video presentation i needed to talk to someone who saw it for herself ace theme park reporter carly weisel host of the podcast very amusing with carly weisel it's so funny because this entire situation feels like i saw a ufo i was in a digital press conference meeting and at the very very tail end disney parks chairman josh demaro whipped out a lightsaber no one was expecting this he had this hilt that what it didn't look like a regular lightsaber hilt again from the two second memory i have it was more of a box it seemed wider and a little bigger but a full like a zoom a lightsaber appeared and it happened so quickly i couldn't clock how it was coming out of the hill how it was working what was happening and then he said it's real because he knew that we'd be sitting there going i'm sorry what's happening when i saw you freak out on twitter i had to like look up what was going on that's when we started to see okay there's a patent out there i'm studying the patent these are led lights with gears and something that's you know kind of coming out of the hilt but you didn't see it go back in the hill it was just like coming out of the hill right i don't believe i saw the lightsaber go back in but i also i have to mention i cannot confirm that what i saw is what that patent is the way you would see it in the films where there's nothing and then there's a weapon it kind of happened that quick details of a lightsaber concept are in a patent application so this is something disney has been tinkering with for some time tucked inside the handle or what you would call the hilt of the light sword there are three materials rolled up into three different spools there are two halves of a cylinder that make up the outside shell which extended is about 30 inches long and a third spool is a strip of led lights on the inside it could be anywhere from four to seven feet of leds which all unspool quickly together to make it look like the light blade is shooting out you know why don't i just show you let's go shopping let's see what i can find customer needs assistance in self-checkout okay there's just one more thing i want to get i'm just gonna pop into target really quick okay so maybe i got more than one thing but i got one thing for the project i need i have a bad feeling about this but we're gonna try it anyway so i am not an engineer by any stretch i mean i did win my middle school science fair and watched a lot of bill nye as a kid but i wanted to make a model to show you some of the materials that could be involved in this so the lights inside would be a strip of leds and you can pick this up at any hardware store let's turn it on whoa there we go now the idea is that you would just spool this up really tight i'm a fan of purple to create a tube you're getting two halves of a cylinder to unspool out and you want some sort of like lightweight plastic that can keep its shape but it is a little bendable so it could curl up and you know it's going to also overlap to surround the led light so even though it looks like a lightsaber already i am going to cut it in half to show what could be going on in that patent so you have a lot happening at once three different things spooling out together when you actually hold it you can kind of tell how much is going to be involved in getting it right we're getting there one of the components that it needs is something for to be attached at the top of all three elements so that way when it jumps out and retracts back in they're all coming and leaving at the same time and it's described as a little end cap let's build a little end cap so i got like these plastic buttons for cables and ping pong ball but i gotta cut this in half how do you cut a ping-pong ball i should be wearing gloves or something i don't know what i'm doing this seems dangerous this thing has to come out really fast you know it sounds a little bit like a tape measure too oh there's no way i'm going to be able to actually roll it up but could maybe show you what it would look like at the end result i'm going to stay so i am using clear plastic which means you can see all the led lights individually shining and they need something to diffuse that this is like a mat you would put under the sink all right and for the finishing touch i do have this decorative lightsaber candlestick holder i will use as my hilt wait how am i going to get this in here tape now all you need is a little bit of a sound effect and you have yourself a real lightsaber it's it's like this more or less let's see if this passes the kid test what does it look like a light table maybe what does it do it's like a lightsaber right i made this it's awesome does it look real no why you have a lot of teeth because it's the only way i could keep it together how does this compare to the toy you have kind of squishy i think it's cool which one's the better lightsaber both of them both of them would you find something like this for sale well that is interesting question because you need to make it tough enough to take people messing with it turn it up and down a jillion times but right now disney is saying this is a prop for entertainment the guests of the star wars galactic star cruiser will be the first to see characters like ray wheel this lightsaber around the ship as guests travel the galaxy in a two-day two-night stay now if you want to make your own light saber there is another experience in the theme park land galaxy's edge you can have your own lightsaber built and pick out your own kyber crystal now those light sabers are about two hundred dollars and of course the saber part doesn't move if you want something that retracts there's always this version or you could use your imagination and the force which i like to call tape yes this is this is oh i'm so sorry disney i'm so sorry\n"