Tutorial for KR-Sabers Ahsoka (2022) Master Chassis
Here are 2 beautiful hilts, from a collaborative work between KR-Sabers, One Replicas and GOTH-3Designs.
Of course, they were bound to have exceptional Master Chassis as well. They are both functional with removable covers and battery for Neopixel installs, and aesthetical with CC door, spinning crystal chamber and mostly metal chassis reveal.
Introduction
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Disclaimer
GOTH-3Designs cannot be held responsible for any mistakes made by DIYers during their install. You must have a good understanding of what you’re doing, of the components used and the safety measures associated to them. Always wear protective gear when working on install (gloves, eye protection, …), GOTH-3Designs cannot be held responsible in case of accident.
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Note #1
Always use the smallest wires to make your install easier. There can be big differences between one wire type and another for the same AWG specs. PTFE Wires with the smallest OD are recommended such as those sold at The Saber Armory. A good wire management is also required, routing wires properly helps a lot saving space.
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Note #2
These instructions will not cover how to wire the soundboard, make sure to learn how to by reading the manual. We have also typical soundboards wiring available in the Padawan Tutorials. Always test your install along the way! Verifying that everything works after important steps is better than having to dismount everything because something wasn’t wired properly.
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Note #3
Metal parts can require some additional installer actions to fit properly, such as boring out holes to fit the rods and tubes for example. It can also happen to have the part slightly bent (in the case of brass), and it usually quite easy to bend back the part into shape.
– Accent LEDs can be added on both chassis rear sections:
Simple 3mm white LEDs can be added for an easy install, more advanced user can add 2020 NPXL strip as well.
– A custom sticker around the battery can give a nice additional look to this chassis.
– The 3D printed crystal can also be used as templates to shape stones (Quartz, …).
Videos from KR-Sabers
Chapter 1 – Chassis parts preparation
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The plastic chassis parts come joined together with sprues. They need to be separated using scissors and xacto knife or equivalent.
The large hilt crystal insert part needs to be split in 2 parts (cut them apart with a Dremel cut wheel).
Chapter 2 – Small Hilt Chassis Prep
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Additional note: The only trick on the small hilt is the switch install. As the side plate can create different tolerance once glued on the hilt, the switch plunger screw could need adjustment.
So it important during preparation to test the switch once the plate is glued on the hilt (hold the chassis pressed into the hilt when testing the switch actuation).
Chapter 3 – Large Hilt Preparation and Tweaks
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1) Minor tweaks are required to allow the side plate to sit flush and to ease the plate opening.
1.1) The “ribs” silver part could require a bit of sanding. As low tolerance is present between the rib part and the area shown in blue below.
Test the fitment and apply the tweaks below until the silver “ribs” part first sit perfectly flush in the hilt, and then the side plate sits flush as well on top.
Step 1: separate the black and silver part
Step 2: sand slightly the corner shown below
Step 3: if necessary, also sand the following areas (highlighted in blue).
Step 4: re-assemble the black and silver part, do not overtighten the screw that attaches these 2 parts, as it can create a misalignment.1.2) The side plate can be difficult to pull out, because it is retained both at emitter and pommel level. The tweak consists in sanding the bottom show in blue, so that the is no longer blockage to remove the plate and reveal the chassis.
2) Same point as the shoto hilt regarding the switch install:
As the side plate can create different tolerance once glued on the hilt, the switch plunger screw could need adjustment. So it is important during preparation to test the switch once the plate is glued on the hilt (hold the chassis pressed into the hilt when testing the switch actuation).
Chapter 4 – Large Hilt Chassis Prep
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Additional notes:
– The following part needs sanding in the blue area shown below to ease joining the next part with the rods.
– A bug was present in the first version of the following part were the rod holes were too long to fit properly in the hilt. If you part has long holes as below, cut them in half with a Dremel cut wheel.
Chapter 5 – Small Hilt Install
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Note: Most of the chassis is installed outside the hilt.
Once the chassis is assembled, it is inserted in the hilt and the soundboard is installed / wired last.1) Wire and install the 24mm Bass Speaker (to be glued in its slot)
2) Wire and install the recharge port.
The port is to be glued in the chassis dedicated slot.
There is a ring on the hilt that would screw on both the recharge port and hilt.
Make sure to keep the recharge port leads as short as possible, so that they won’t prevent the cover to sit into place properly.
3) Install the single pixel and crystal on the CC insert.
4) Attach / glue the cover to the speaker holder, using a 1.5mmOD rod piece.
Optional: a 2020 NPXL strip can be added on the speaker holder for extra light.
5) Wire and install the positive battery tab (to be glued in its slot once wired).
Plan wiring according to your soundboard.
2 x 22awg wires can be soldered on the back of the tab, in order to feed the NPXL / Soundboard at the top, and recharge port at the bottom.
6) Wire and insert the negative battery tab.
7) Wire and install the motor.
The motor is inserted up to the end of it’s silver portion (and secure by glue).
7) Wire and install the tactile switch.
8) Join and glue the CC Shell with the main chassis, using the small rods as guide as shown on the assembly video.
9) Insert the CC spinning part and glue it on the motor stem (being extra careful not to glue on the motor itself).
9) Join and glue the front assembly with the back of the chassis, using the 1.5mmOD rods as guide
10) Manage the wires, using heatshrink tubing to tidy them up.
The base of the chassis is chamfered on each side to allow wire to pass up to the soundboard area.
13) Glue the 2mmx2mm magnets and install the covers as shown in the assembly video.
12) Wire and install the NPXL hilt side pcb into its holder.
Then install the holder into the emitter, using the retention screw to lock it in place.
13) Assemble back the emitter onto the hilt, and add the chassis inside it.
Lock the chassis with the recharge port ring and the speaker ring.
14) Install the soundboard.
The wiring is similar to this example:
With blade profile as:
};
BladeConfig blades[] = {
{ 0,
WS281XBladePtr<140, bladePin, Color8::GRB, PowerPINS<bladePowerPin2, bladePowerPin3> >(),
WS281XBladePtr<1, blade2Pin, Color8::GRB, PowerPINS<bladePowerPin4> >(),
SimpleBladePtr<CH1LED,NoLED, NoLED, NoLED,bladePowerPin6, -1,-1,-1>(),
CONFIGARRAY(presets)
},
};
Chapter 6 – Large Hilt Install
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Note: Most of the chassis is installed outside the hilt.
Once the chassis is assembled, it is inserted in the hilt and the soundboard is installed / wired last.1) Wire and install the 24mm Bass Speaker (to be glued in its slot)
2) Wire and install the recharge port.
The port is to be glued in the chassis dedicated slot.
There is a ring on the hilt that will screw on the recharge port.
Make sure to keep the recharge port leads as short as possible, so that they won’t prevent the cover to sit into place properly.
3) Glue the long booster part using the 1.5mmOD rod pieces.
The glue the Speaker cover on top of the speaker holder.
Optional: a 2020 NPXL strip can be added under the booster part for extra light.4) Wire and install the motor.
5) Insert the CC spinning part and glue it on the motor stem (being extra careful not to glue on the motor itself).
6) Wire and install the single pixel into the crystal, then glue the crystal into the crystal holder.
7) Insert the crystal holder into the CC shell and glue it using the 1.5mmOD rod piece as guide.
8) Join and glue the CC Shell with the rear chassis, using the small rods as guide as shown on the assembly video.
9) Wire and install the positive battery tab (to be glued in its slot once wired).
Plan wiring according to your soundboard.
2 x 22awg wires can be soldered on the back of the tab, in order to feed the NPXL / Soundboard at the top, and recharge port at the bottom.
10) Wire and insert the negative battery tab
11) Wire and glue the switch in its slot.
12) Join and glue the front chassis with the rest of the chassis assembly, using the 1.5mmOD rods as guide, as shown on the video.
13) Manage the wires, using heatshrink tubing to tidy them up.
The base of the chassis is chamfered on each side to allow wire to pass up to the soundboard area.
14) Glue the 2mmx2mm magnets and install the covers as shown in the assembly video.
15) Wire and install the NPXL hilt side pcb into its holder.
Then install the holder into the emitter, using the retention screw to lock it in place.
13) Assemble back the emitter onto the hilt, and add the chassis inside it.
Lock the chassis with the recharge port ring and the speaker ring.
14) Install the soundboard.
The wiring is similar to this example:
With blade profile as:
};
BladeConfig blades[] = {
{ 0,
WS281XBladePtr<140, bladePin, Color8::GRB, PowerPINS<bladePowerPin2, bladePowerPin3> >(),
WS281XBladePtr<1, blade2Pin, Color8::GRB, PowerPINS<bladePowerPin4> >(),
SimpleBladePtr<CH1LED,NoLED, NoLED, NoLED,bladePowerPin6, -1,-1,-1>(),
CONFIGARRAY(presets)
},
};Notes: PowerPin5 can be used for the optional 2020 accent strip under the booster section of the chassis.
