Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures 40mm laser base

thingiverse

ANOTHER NEW VERSION! Now using 1/16 acrylic rods to generate the line laser. Slightly larger and switched to a CR2032 battery and holder for improved laser output. NEW VERSION! Substantial improvements in fit/size. Still working on a battery power issue (the lasers dim pretty dramatically within a few seconds) This Model is dedicated to Wil Wheaton and his great Table Top show on Youtube. I'm not affiliated with it, but it introduced me to this game and got me back into board games in general. Check it out! If you play X-wing You've probably gotten in the situation where you can't tell if you're just in the firing arc or you can't fit the whole range ruler into place. For me being a lazy, lazy, lazy mechanical engineer, I thought, it's Star Wars, clearly lasers are necessary. This is a base I designed, the idea is, if you don't know if you're in the firing arc press down the cardboard piece and the lasers light up, both showing a line to the target and lighting up the target too. So now your X-Wings (or Tie Fighters) can have laser targeting! Also...very much a work in progress! Instructions Version 6! 1x Printed laser base C6 Some cleanup may be required or change slice settings to a diagonal/etc. 1x CR2032 and battery case http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E0JJYGI/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3G3SQGWUPUX9W 1x tactile switch 2x "Lasers" http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00R73MC1S/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A321U5OH73UZ8M 2x short lengths of 1/16" acrylic rod Version 4 Parts List! 1x Printed Laser Base C4 2x Lasers: Very compact new version! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HJIA8C6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 1x Tactile switch You can use just about anything. I specifically used a TE Connectivity: 1977223-1 ...because I had some hanging around. But really any tactile switch in that general profile ought to workhttp://www.te.com/catalog/bin/TE.Connect?S=23806&M=PPROP&P=63019,83735&BML=10576,13873&LG=1&PG=1&IDS=126652,438274,420827,485809,485810&N=4 1x CR1225 Battery and battery case: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MJU9GIQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Wiring is fairly simple. Just remember that a laser diode does need to be connected positive to positive on the battery terminal. I can tell you for personal experience that connecting it the wrong way doesn't work! It doesn't burn anything up either though, so it's okay (in fact if you get that battery holder...just flip the battery...) I glued all the components into place and then proceeded to solder them in. I chose to go with red going to the switch and blue going to the negative battery terminal, but it's pretty open for interpretation. Maybe I'll try to do an instructable on that section at some point. The last bit is the little lenses that turn a normal laser into a lineish laser. For those I found that taking some plastic tupperware from ikea and slicing a little square out of the top rib works very effectively. Make sure the as molded end is towards the table. Again, very much a work in progress! Constructive criticism is welcome. :)