Blade Development Questions

[Bry]

Hey guys, I have a couple of questions, but since it is late, I will probably not convey what I want to ask correctly (not that I generally succeed any better when awake anyways), but I at least want to start asking. Since I started trying to build my first saber there have been a few ideas that have popped into my head as to possible ways to increase the efficiency of the current led/blade combination. I know this is nothing new, and some of my ideas may have been tried before.

So I'll start off by asking, is there some kind of master list of things that have been tried before, and failed, or conversely succeeded in experimenting with the diffusers, and lens set ups? Examples like, using a solid polycarbonate rod vs the tube, things like that. I have some ideas to try, but I don't want to go over ground previously tread upon, since it would be a waste of effort, hence the question.

[Zarrok1138]

Solid acrylic and polycarbonate have been done before,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfCUEwnbqmI

[Bry]

Yeah, see the thing that keeps bothering me is the fact the brightest part of the led is actually nearly invisible to us. The reason being it runs straight up from the led, and with nothing to diffuse it, then is reflected back towards the led matrix. This setup makes the saber blades become giant fiber-optic cables in single led application. For the tri, and quads, things are shifted slightly, but, again the amount of light making it to the edge of the blade are still only a small portion. Ideally we would either want to move the core/adjust the throw of the led's beam to the edges/cellophane, or make a even smaller diffuser that runs from the center of the led to refract the center beam outwards, making it function closer to a florescent tube light.

The key is the opacity of a smaller core diffuser, or a different reflector, and lens combination then what is currently used to shift the light from the center of the blade to the edges.

[Zarrok1138]

I use a shorter than normal blade, this makes it stupidly bright. But, if you really want even color, get a colored tube, sand it VERY well with a fine grit sanding sponge and you will get astounding results.
12212

[Bry]

Thats the thing Zarrok, I'm not talking about evening the blade, I am trying to brighten the blade by increasing the efficiency of the light distribution from the whole of the led.

Right now the first idea I am toying with, is trying to use a small diameter polycarbonate rod (thinking something like 1/8 to 1/4) positioned over the center of the led, and trying it both sanded, and plain, as well as with, and without a cellophane wrap to attempt to shift more visible light outwards.

The reason this idea came to me is, when I cut the cellophane for my blade, I messed up in a couple spots, and got little rough triangles that I couldn't see on the edge of the cut. But since they ended up on the inside of the wrap, they stuck out over the middle of the led. These spots, are literally twice as bright as the rest of the cellophane, just by catching a small amount of the center beam of the led.

[Zarrok1138]

Interesting... But poly carb is not very good for light transmission, see Ripper blade video.

[Silver Serpent]

If you want brighter than polycarb blade, diffuser, and lenses, you're probably going to need to build an LED string blade. They're not as duel-worthy, but they can be a lot brighter if you do it right.

[Cire Yeldarb]

Yeah, see the thing that keeps bothering me is the fact the brightest part of the led is actually nearly invisible to us. The reason being it runs straight up from the led, and with nothing to diffuse it, then is reflected back towards the led matrix. This setup makes the saber blades become giant fiber-optic cables in single led application. For the tri, and quads, things are shifted slightly, but, again the amount of light making it to the edge of the blade are still only a small portion. Ideally we would either want to move the core/adjust the throw of the led's beam to the edges/cellophane, or make a even smaller diffuser that runs from the center of the led to refract the center beam outwards, making it function closer to a florescent tube light.

The key is the opacity of a smaller core diffuser, or a different reflector, and lens combination then what is currently used to shift the light from the center of the blade to the edges.

I think I see where you are going with this and I like the line of thinking. The thing I would be concerned with though is that if you diffuse too much of the light too early down the blade, the light making it up to the top may not be as bright...

[AnimeMun]

Alright I have something interesting to suggest/talk about! I recently watched a video on YouTube demonstrating the creation of transparent aluminum using multiple thicknesses of aluminum. This was done using a butane torch and heating it to the right point. I mention this here with a very interesting concept to propose. SOLID TRANSPARENT LIGHTSABER BLADES!!! The concept perhaps having a reflector installed into a trans. aluminum tip that can be simple welded to a trans. alum blade that is one solid reinforced piece. I'm considering attempting a prototype build of this myself, however the idea would be to potentially have an even sturdier battle blade that can keep with the lighted effects that is also very cheap to produce! I would love some opinions on this concept especially from some of the partsmiths for TCSS!

[Silver Serpent]

Give it a shot and report back your findings.

Honestly though, an aluminum blade doesn't sound like a good idea to me. When struck, aluminum tends to bend and remain bent. I don't know how flexible/resilient your transparent aluminum is, so feel free to experiment. If you get something that looks good, but doesn't hold up under combat, then you'll need to head back to the drawing board.

[Jay-gon Jinn]

They used solid aluminum blades when filming Epiosode I and suffice to say, they didn't last much longer than one or two takes before they were too badly bent to use. This can be seen on the bonus disc that came with the movie when it originally was released on DVD. They switched to carbon fiber for Ep. 2 and Ep. 3. Transparent aluminum sounds cool for a show blade, however...give it a shot, worst that can happen is it doesn't work.

[Silver Serpent]

I was curious, so I went to look for your video. If this is it: https://youtu.be/Ye2c0nWxksA , then he didn't make transparent aluminum. He just burned the aluminum very very thin. I've done the same thing at work with a Bunsen burner and some old aluminum trays.