Custom Sonic Screwdriver Help Wanted

[lnrdr]

Hello, I'm new and I'm not sure where to ask this question, or if it's even something that is done my members of this board.  I have a friend of mine who has cancer and I would like to make her a custom sonic screwdriver.

I have everything modeled up, and have 3d printed a prototype of it already.  The problem I have is that I am not sure how to make it light up and add sound to it.  Any help I can get with this will be greatly appreciated and I apologize if this is the wrong place to ask.  I have attached a picture of the CAD image.  It will be black and blue and I would like to twist the section above the handle to activate the light and sound.    

[phillbarron]

Being essentially unskilled, I tend to look for the simplest solution. To me, the easiest (and possibly cheapest) way to do this would be to buy a secondhand toy sonic and cannibalise the light/sound board. I'd probably do the twist on/off by having wires/contacts which met inside when twisted.

I'm sure there are better ways to do this involving fabricating mechanisms and programming sound boards ... but that's the way I'd do it.

Beautiful design, by the way!

[galacticprobe]

I agree with Phill. The easiest way to add light and sound would be to find one of the Character Options toy sonic screwdrivers (9th/10th or 11th Doctors, or even the "Customize Your Own" set, or its add-on expansion set) and use the innards from one of those. The Customize Your Own would be the easiest of all because the light-sound-battery module is separate and really easy to transplant without having to work at tearing apart a complete sonic screwdriver just to get at it (and hope you don't damage the module while you're tearing apart the sonic).

As for having the sonic screwdriver activated by twisting the section above the handle? Well, if you use the light-sound module from the Customize Your Own kit, you would just need to put some sort of "bump" on the inside of your sonic screwdriver so when you twisted it, that bump would press on the button of the light-sound module, and that would activate/deactivate your screwdriver. And since the module that comes with the Customize Your Own (or its Add-on Kit - or is it called the "Expansion" Kit... I can't remember) - anyway, if you use one of those, the light it puts out is white, so you can use whatever color "crystal" you want for the emitter without having to worry about changing the LED.

I hope this is helpful. And all the best wishes to your friend. I'm sure everyone reading this will be thinking good thoughts for her.

Dino.

[lnrdr]

Thanks for the feedback.  Here is a picture of the prototype I have printed so far.  It looks like since I started this, the toy ones seem to be easier to find and cheaper as well.  I'll let you know what I come up with. 

I'm still open to other suggestions.

[13drwho]

It's wonderful that you're doing this for your friend. I hope she gets better.

I pretty much agree with some of the stuff already said here. I would definitely use the Customize Your Own Sonic Screwdriver kit. The electronics module in it is really well designed and would be easy to use. I would say it would be worth buying one, taking a bunch of measurements of the module, and tweaking your model to fit it. You might have to reprint to make it work, but that is a probability whatever electronics you use.

I have designed custom electronics for numerous props, but it can be expensive. Using something like this will be cheaper, faster, and more rugged. Whatever you decide I hope it turns out great.

[galacticprobe]

13drwho makes a good point about you might having to tweak your design a little to make the module from the Customize Your Own Sonic Screwdriver kits. It also reminded me of something that you might want to tweak: your activation method. You may want to reconsider the "twist" activation for the more conventional "button" method because both of the Customize Your Own kits (the main one and the "Expansion Kit" module) each have 8 sounds programmed into them.

Like the 11th Doctor's sonic screwdriver and its extra sounds, to activate the first two sounds, you just push the button once and it toggles from Sound 1 to Sound 2 and back each time you press the button. To activate the other sounds, you have to press the button three times quickly and hold it down on the third press to activate the 3rd sound: do it four times and hold it down for the 4th sound, and so on. So trying to activate all of the sounds (some of which are pretty cool) by using a 'twist-to-activate' method could get cumbersome, and put excessive wear on the moving part of the sonic.

I hope this made sense.

Also, how are you going to highlight her name that's nicely etched in the housing? (Gold paint, maybe? Or a blue or purple inlay as in your render if the sonic? Both would make her name stand out nicely, especially the gold or purple inlay as they're brighter than the blue. But I do like blue as well: wore a dark blue Coast Guard uniform for 29 years, so it's a good thing I liked blue! )

Your present looks beautiful so far, and I agree with 13drwho again when he says this is a wonderful thing you're doing for your friend, and I also hope she gets better soon. (I said that before, but I'll say it again.)

Dino.

[lnrdr]

Thanks for the advice on the button.  I actually ordered a sonic driver and book set for $10 that should work. 

Also thanks for the compliments on the design.  The driver will be black and blue per her request, with a green light.  The name will also be inlaid with blue.

[lnrdr]

This is what I got.  Its much smaller than I thought, but it might work.

[galacticprobe]

Is that just the sonic screwdriver torch/flashlight, or does it also make a sound? (It looks like the smaller light-only version.)

The kits containing the light and sound modules are still available from Amazon:
Personalize Your Own Sonic Screwdriver

and the extra bit with its own sound and light module, all interchangeable with the above: Trans-temporal Sonic Screwdriver

The full Personalize Your Own kit is around $32 US, but the link to the Trans-temporal "add-on" above is only $18 US. If you look at the main kit, it shows the separate light and sound module so you'll see what it looks like. The Trans-temporal kit's looks the same, only it has different sounds. Both modules have a really bright white light so you can make your custom special gift have any color emitter your friend prefers just by making the emitter "crystal" interchangeable. (This is where clear or "swirly" glass/plastic marbles come in handy.)

I hope this helps if you don't find the one you received suitable enough.

Dino.