Other Chassis for Rey EpIX

KR Rey (2022) Master Chassis

One of the most complex hilt created, as it uses an intricate petals opening mechanism.
Thanks to the hard work of the team (KR-Sabers, Denis Lukyanov and GOTH-3Designs), this hilt is a perfect replica of the prop used in Episode IX - The Rise Of Skywalker. It is not only accurate, but also manages to feature both petals opening mechanism and saber ignition using the gear.
The Master Chassis is also something to behold, inspired directly from the concept arts used for the movie, it features both practicality of an NPXL install and intricate Crystal Chamber cage with spinning part over the Crystal.

Introduction

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

Other parts details

– 20 x 2mmx2mm NeoDymium Magnets
– 1st Switch = 6mmx6mm Tactile Switch (6mm Height)
– 2nd Switch = Brass Tactile Switch (3mm Height) 
– 3 x Yellow 3mm Accent LEDs
– 1 x Red 3mm Accent LED

Chapter 1 – Hilt preparation , Tips and Tricks

  • 1- It is important to avoid as much frictions as possible in the opening mechanism, in order to have a smooth switch operation.
    – If opening the petals isn’t smooth, cleaning dust (using pressurized air) and lubrification is highly recommended.
    – The white nylon washers could also need a bit of sanding to make them thinner. Opening a bit the nylon washers ID can also help, as they would slide over the screws instead of having them screwing in (and thus pushing them inside toward the inner tube).

    2- The petals mech uses a lot of little screws, and given the cannot be overtighten in order not to black the opening, it can happen to have some of them falling after several opening / closing tests. Loctite threadlocker will help secure these screws. it takes some patience to remove the screws and disassemble the whole mechanism, but it’s pretty easy nonetheless.

    3- If the pommel appears to come off too easily or wobbles too much, simply expand a bit the J-lock areas using pliers, and the pommel will be more friction fit.

    4- There are 4 screws on the pommel that stick out inside the tube, which will prevent the Master Chassis to properly slide all the way down. These 4 screws need to be trimmed about 2mm.

Chapter 2 – Main Chassis Assembly

  • 1- Separate the chassis parts, by cutting the sprues. 
    2- Cut the rods and tubes:
    – 4 x 1.5mmOD rods with 94mm length
    – 2 x 1.5mmOD rods with 36mm length
    – 2 x 1.5mmOD rods with 27mm length
    – 4 x 3mmOD tubes with 33mm length
    3- Clean the rods holes using a 1.6mm drill bit (if needed) and test the chassis assembly.
    4- Cut the 1mmOD tubes in small bits, using a .45mmOD nickel rod to help cleaning / sanding them (6 for the top chassis attachment, 6 for the bottom chassis attachment)

Chapter 3 – Main Chassis Install

  • This video shows the prototype build. The final chassis is mostly similar except the 2nd switch install which is detailed in Step 4.

    Step 1 – 0:00:03 – Parts Preparation
    – Weather the parts.
    – Glue the 3mm OD tubes to the top metal part. Check at 0:01:00, use the other chassis parts to help gluing the tubes at the right height, so that no gap will show between the crystal holder part and the tubes.
    – Glue the magnets on the crystal cage doors, the soundboard cover and the chassis.

    Step 2 – 0:02:11 – Connector Install
    We used 1x 22 AWG for Positive, 2x 22 AWG for Negative, 3x 28 AWG for the NPXL Data line and Switch
    Optional, some accent pixels can be installed on the back of the PCB (wiring must leave the pixel as flat as possible in order no to push the motor forward – see next step).
    Plan the wires routing to correctly distribute the wires in the 3mm OD tubes.
    Leave the 2 switch wires through the 2nd switch channel, as shown below:

    Do not glue the connector yet.

    Step 3 – 0:03:38 – Motor Install
    The motor is inserted until touching the connector on its back. Make sure the spinning part connects properly to the motor before gluing the motor in its slot. Test it again before gluing the spinning part to the motor.
    Once the motor is secured, the NPXL + Switches connector OCB can be finally glued.

    Step 4 – 0:05:08 – 2nd Switch Install
    The 2nd switch duplicates the first one, and will allow to operate the soundboard from the chassis directly. While it is not mandatory, it is highly recommend to install it.
    The final chassis version uses a 3mm height brass tactile switch. The install is also easier compared to the prototype shown in the video.
    – Wire the brass tactile switch on one side with the wires from the connector, and the other side of the switch will have wires going to the soundboard (use heatshrink tubing on the soundboard side to avoid contact with the metal part):

    – Glue the switch, the plunger must rest against the chassis as shown below:

    – Once the wires properly routed, and the metal piece added in in Step 5, it will look like this:

    Step 5 – 0:05:46 – Crystal Chamber Part1
    – Route the wires into the metal part and 3mmOD tubes.
    – The 4 long and 2 short (27mm) 1.5mmOD rods can be glued to the top plastic part at this point.
    – Then connect completely the plastic and metal part.
    – Add the crystal cage and doors. And glue the cage on top to the rods to secure the assembly.
    – Add the cosmetic red wires on the top metal part.

    Step 6 – 0:08:09 – Crystal Chamber Part2
    – Prepare the single 9mmOD accent pixel. We recommend sanding / chamfering the PCB back in order to avoid any contact of the pads with the metal crystal holder.
    – Then route the wires from the 3mmOD tubes into the crystal holder part. All wires exist from the middle hole at the bottom.
    – Wire and add the single pixel inside the crystal holder.
    – Glue the crystal holder ring.
    – Glue the crystal
    – Finish inserting the crsytal holder into the assembly, taking care of pulling the wires slowly and properly.
    – Glue the crystal holder on top on the rod to secure the assembly.
    – Wires and add the first 3mm accent led into the crystal holder middle hole.
    – Add a heatshrink tube to make sure all these wires are well tidy together. This will help sliding and holding the clear plastic piece installed din next step.

    Step 7 – 0:13:45 – Crystal Chamber Part3
    – Glue the bottom cage and booster part together
    – Sand flat the red 3mm accent LEDs on one side. Wire it, then glue it in its slot in the plastic diffuser part.
    – Add the crystal chamber bottom by passing wires in the middle, then add the plastic diffuser.
    – Glue the bottom chamber on the rods to secure the assembly, and finally push the plastic diffuser.
    – Add the cosmetic red wires.
    – Sand flat the 2 remaining yellow accent LEDs. They are wired in parallel, in C shape to go glued at the bottom of the plastic diffuser (0:19:19)
    – Bridge wires to save space (example, all the yellow LEDs can be bridged)

    Step 8 – 0:21:00 – Sound Module
    – Install the battery contacts (the negative contact is expanded a bit to make sure the battery fits secured).
    – Install and glue the kill switch. 
    – Install the speaker
    – Route the wires as shown, using heatsink tubes, to ensure the cover will sit properly.

    Step 9 – 0:25:55 – Chassis Coupling
    – Join the 2 chassis halves
    Tip: bridge the positive wires and solder them directly on the back on the positive contact to save space.
    – Glue the 1mmOD tubes on the top and bottom of the crystal chamber.

    Step 10 – 0:28:20 – Soundboard Install
    Here are the wiring diagrams for Proffie.
    Note: these are given as example.
    Reading and understanding the soundboard manual remains mandatory.





    In this example, the blade config results as follow:
    BladeConfig blades[] = {
    { 0,
    WS281XBladePtr<149, bladePin, Color8::GRB, PowerPINS<bladePowerPin2, bladePowerPin3> >(),
    WS281XBladePtr<1, blade2Pin, Color8::GRB, PowerPINS<bladePowerPin4> >(),
    SimpleBladePtr<CH1LED, NoLED, NoLED, NoLED, bladePowerPin1, -1, -1, -1>(),
    SimpleBladePtr<CH1LED, NoLED, NoLED, NoLED, bladePowerPin5, -1, -1, -1>(),
    SimpleBladePtr<CH1LED, NoLED, NoLED, NoLED, bladePowerPin6, -1, -1, -1>(),
    CONFIGARRAY(presets) },
    };

Chapter 4 – Switch Module Install

  • 1- Make sure again that the hilt’s petal opening mech is smooth.
    2- Clean the top chassis part, to avoid anything that could dirt or block the petal opening mech or the switch mech.
    Important: it is fairly common to have some printing dust remaining in the 3D printed chassis parts. Make sure to clean any printing dust residue from the top chassis part that will host the switch (use a sharp knife, brush the inside of the part and use pressurized air at the end to ensure everything is gone).
    3- The switch level must operate without friction, some sanding on both lever and inside the chassis can be required.
    4- Glue the 2mmx2mm magnets in the lever.
    5- Glue the 2mmx2mm magnets in the chassis.
    Important: the polarity of the chassis  magnets must be opposing the lever magnets. The point is to have some force pushing away the lever from the switch in order to help pushing back the gear ring on the hilt after pressing the switch.

    6- Wire and glue the switch in its socket.
    7- Test the lever and switch operation.
    8- Glue the 1.5mmOD x 15mm long rod to create the center of rotation for the lever, as shown below. Make sure not to glue the rod on the switch lever.
    Make sure to respect the lever orientation, the lowest side goes over the switch, while the tallest side is facing the screw.

    9- Add and glue the 1.5mmOD x 15mm long rod on top of the level to block it from pushing too far back. Make sure again not to glue the rod on the switch lever or to add glue between the lever and the chassis (tiny drops of Loctite e6000 in the chassis corners will do fine).

    10- Wire and glue the NPXL connector (SCW Long Pins). The wires must pass behind the switch wires.
    Note: about the connector lens, both this lens and this lens will work fine. It is normal the second lens doesn’t sit flush in the holder, as there is a step in the hilt.
    11- Wire and glue the NPXL+Switch connector
    12- Test the switch and connectors to make sure everything is well wired.
    13- Insert the chassis into the hilt and clock it correctly to have the window for the screw facing the same on the hilt. Secure the chassis with the retention screw.
    14- Try the gear / switch operation (with the main chassis in).
    If the switch feedback or push back isn’t satisfactory, it could be necessary to clock the chassis a bit differently forward or backward, until the gear activates the switch and bounces back easily.