Ever wish you could do a little target shooting in a galaxy far, far away? Well then you’re in luck, as the Star Wars inspired GlowBlaster designed by [Louis Abbott] can help you realize those dreams with a real-life laser pistol — albeit a much weaker one than you’d want to carry into a Mos Eisley cantina.
Inside the 3D printed frame of the GlowBlaster is a 5 mW 405 nm module, an Arduino Nano, a speaker, a vibration motor, and a 9 V battery. When you pull the trigger, it pushes down on a 12 mm tactile button which causes the Arduino to fire the laser and sprinkle in a bit of theatrics by way of the speaker and vibration motor. There’s also a second button on the side of the blaster that lets you pick between firing modes.
The idea behind this project is that even a momentary blast from a 405 nm laser will excite a phosphorescent material enough that it will show a hit. So all you’ve got to do is draw a target on a glow-in-the-dark sheet, and you’ll be able to see where your shots land from clear across the doom. Admittedly it will have to be a dimly lit room, but still.
Technically that 5 mW figure puts the GlowBlaster’s output on par with a laser pointer, but in the documentation, [Louis] cautions that laser modules sourced online are often more powerful than their labels claim. So you, and anyone else around, would be wise to wear eye protection while the laser is being fired.
This is a far simpler solution than previous laser marksmanship projects we’ve covered, as the target side is totally passive. Although we have to admit, seeing the target actually get knocked down is a lot of fun.
Neat build! I probably would have used an 18650 or LiPo pouch instead of a 9V though, probably because I have a lot more of those than 9V batteries. You might want to add a disclaimer though since it looks like some of those firing modes would violate magazine capacity limits in some states.
A disclaimer for the “magazine” capacity of a flashlight?
This video might help explain a little:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aWcZShT4cI
Yah, 9v batteries suck.
LiPo + USB charge/boost module for the win.
To complete the illusion, wear green-tinted “night vision” goggles that would both block the blue light, and increase the conspicuity of the green phosphorescence.
A camera sensor pointed at the target would be an easy way to get feedback on the target too. Design constraints would be low because you’re just looking for a change in an otherwise static image.
(No need to wire up a bunch of sensors)
“But I wanted to go to Toshi Station and pick up some power converters!”
“Shut up and drink your blue milk!”
Nice project. Note that you don’t need a phosphorescent target to use this type of setup. There are plenty of mobile apps that will use the camera to track hits on plain, paper targets. There are also laser pointer modules in standard chamber sizes, e.g 9mm or .45cal for use in existing hardware.
i dont think you understand the point of this… this isnt for marksmanship training where visual stimulation isnt priority… this is just for entertainment, a toy, satisfying to see all the dots build up and glow.
replace the laser diode with one with 15w or 30w….and a violet colored beam. keeping it at the same Voltage would mean no need to switch drivers or batteries. Laze away, friends
But 30 mW of 405 nm light would be seriously bad for your eyes, can you say cataracts? 405 is far into the violet and not very visible at all, as well as each photon having significantly more energy than green or red light, not a good mix.
Why the arduino? Just design the trigger mechanism to provide a momentary contact that powers the laser.
Looks like it has multiple “firing modes”, like auto, burst, etc.
Fun fact: if you actually read the post before commenting on it, you wouldn’t need to ask pointless questions.
Lol
Could have done it with a 555 and a rotary switch
It could be nice to have the laser operate at a low power level when the tension is taken up in the trigger, followed by a bright flash at the point of sear release. That way, the impact of asymmetric trigger pressure on aiming could be observed (a very common mistake).
I was thinking a piezo trigger for the power source, nice mechanical trigger combined with powersource
Build a “recoil” slide or piston that puffs out some fog machine glycol so the blaster bolt is partially visible…
This would be a cool toy for the kids, if you could figure out a way to keep them from looking down the barrel.
Decades ago, I bought “My First Laser Pointer”[TM].
I was showing it to a couple of neighbor kids, and they wanted to try it.
Before handing it to them I said “don’t point it in anyone’s face!”
The first thing the kid I handed to, laughing, immediately pointed it at his friend’s face.
I took it back.
It’s actually really odd that there are so many people with 2 working eyes since the invention of the cheap LASER when you think about it.
But then again it’s also odd that not 100K per million die from cars existing.
And there are many more of such oddities.
It all defies logic.
The last batch of 10 “5mW” 405 nm laser pointers I bought out of China measured anywhere from 15 mW to 75 mW. Of course, that was on a power meter also procured from China, so…
Hi! Louis Abbott (project creator) here. Thank you so much to Tom Nardi for writing this awesome article, and thanks for all the positive comments! I wholeheartedly agree with the comments that suggest using a LiPo battery. I can’t remember exactly why I didn’t use one (I built this thing a little while ago), but it was likely out of concern for either budget or simplicity. If I were to design this again, I would totally go that route, and I’d encourage anyone who wants to build something similar to consider that modification. I will say, however, that the 9V batteries last surprisingly long and have worked perfectly for me. I also appreciate the comments regarding safety concerns, and I hope my build guide was clear enough about what I know to be the important safety issues. The blaster is a super fun toy IF you can trust users not to shoot themselves in the eye.
To whoever sees this, know that I’m so happy my project reached this audience and that people are engaging with the idea! ~Louis