Nov.7, 2014 | By Alec

After seeing so many cool, inventive and complicated designs by Adafruit's in-house designers, you start to wonder how they can outdo themselves. But now the tech wizards and brothers Noe and Pedro Ruiz have come up another mind-blowing project, literally: a very cool prop ray gun blaster, complete with intricate electronics that provide cool lighting and sound effects each time you pull the trigger.

While this would be an absolutely awesome Halloween prop, this better-late-than-never design is an intricate and complicated project, that involves a whole host of electronics: aside from a 3D printer, you'll also need an Audio FX Sound Board, a Pro Trinket 5V/3V and a Pro Trinket Lilon (with Backpack add-on), a Pam 8302 Mono 2.5 W audio amplifer, a NeoPixel Ring 12x, a Laser diode, a 500mAh battery, a mini speaker and a few 6mm buttons.

To add an extra layer of difficulty, the gun consists of an incredible 20 different 3D printed parts, and about 20 different wired connections as well. It's therefore rather obvious that this project is intended for experienced builders who can also handle various programming and wiring steps. 'This is a great project for experienced and ambitious makers.'

If that doesn't deter you, follow their comprehensive tutorial that you can find here. It also includes all the necessary STL files to complete this project. All of these have been designed in Autodesk 123D Design, and can be modified in there if you'd like.

Most of the parts used in this project can be 3D printed in either PLA or ABS. However, as a number of them require support structures to print properly, the tech brothers behind this project advise printing in ABS as it will make it much easier to remove the support material. Just take a pair of flat plyers and wriggle it about until all excess material is removed.

After 3D printing, it's a simple matter of programming the Arduino Ide and installing Pro Trinket, the NeoPixel Library and the Audio Library. This will allow you to code the LED and sound effects that make this ray gun so cool, though all the wiring and programming can be a bit challenging as there are quite a few steps involved.

Now you can assemble all the parts and screw down the enclosures. Mount the trigger and attach it to the push button, and you're good to go! Be sure to check out this brief clip on this cool ray gun:



Posted in 3D Printing Applications

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