Build Instructions

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• 1

  Connecting Electronics

  -Connect the USB-C cable and the battery holder to the battery module. Then add wires to the battery module to be able to power the rest of the electronics. Next add power and ground the electronics that its needed and a the button to the loop to make it turn on and off at your free will. See the diagram below for more details.

• 2

  Coding the Neopixel Lights

  I used the website Wokwi in order to code my lightsaber and be able to view what the code does using a diagram, and I used the program Thonny in order to upload the code to the Xiao RP2040 microboard. I used a diagram online to determine how to connect the microboard to the other electronics.

  Tutorial and Diagram
  

  I copy and pasted my code from Wokwi to Thonny and I connected the microboard to my computer using a USB-C cable. 

  In order to upload the code into the microboard, I had to drag the files for the code into the drive of the microboard that appears when you connect it to the computer

  Our code on Wokwi

  Keep in mind that when transferring your code from Wokwi to Thonny, you have to transfer both the "main.py" file and the "neopixel.py" file.

  Website for Thonny
  

• 3

  3D Creation

  To create this lightsaber or one of your very own your will need a 3D printed and 3d modeling software (I recommend Fusion360 but there are other options)  

  You can break it up into 3 sections: the top or the hilt, the handle, and the bottom 

  For the top design a unique design we did cookie monster, its important to make sure you have a hole spanning the top to the bottom for your electronics to come from the handle to the light strip above the handle.

  For the handle make a cylindric shape that is wide enough to fit your electronics inside.  The pi pico and the speaker are the widest components so make sure your diameter is large enough to fit those in.  Your cylinder should be hallow and that's where the electronics will go.  Put 2 accordingly sized holes in the side of the cylinder for your buttons (you have 2).

  For the bottom, design a piece that will cover the bottom hole of the cylinder. It is recommended to make the bottom piece removable by placing threads or using another method, this will make the placing and fixing of the electronics easier.

  Alternatively, you can download the STL files to 3D print this lightsaber, or download the F3D files to edit this lightsaber before printing it.
  

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