3D Print a Star Wars Control Panel

Decorate your own Rebel Hideout with a Star Wars set decoration, closely modeled after an actual prop from Luthen Rael’s workshop on Coruscant! This simple control panel project is the base for a larger electronics project; you can just connect the lights to a power source and switch, or you can use a microcontroller to read the potentiometers for interactivity (along with some shift registers if you want many panels) and really bring this prop to life!

The 3D print files include:

• Three base panel pieces (A, B, and C)
• One large knob
• Three small knobs
• Two light panel covers
• Four potentiometer spacers
• One potentiometer cover
• Large ring greeblie
• Small ring greeblie

In addition to the 3D print files, all you need are 15 5mm LEDs, four 6mm potentiometers, super glue, hot glue, sandpaper, and a pair of needlenose pliers.

Luthen’s gallery in the Andor series, Galactic Antiquities and Objects of Interest, was loaded with Easter eggs from all parts of the Star Wars universe of films, TV, and video games. Build this project and your workshop will have a Star Wars Easter egg of its own.

Printing Tips

This project was tested on a Prusa MK3S+, using a 0.15mm layer height. Tolerances may vary depending on your printer model and settings! Print files are initially separated into four build plates for simplicity; however if you want to match the color scheme in this tutorial which is more accurate to the source prop, I would recommend printing the smaller components as follows:

• Group 1: Potentiometer Cover
• Group 2: Potentiometer Spacers
• Group 3: Greeblies (2) and Knobs (4)
• Group 4: Light Panel Cover A
• Group 5: Light Panel Cover B

If you want to do a multicolor print for the panels but do not have a multi-material system, slicers typically have a function to allow you to add a pause for a filament color change. To do it in PrusaSlicer, right-click on the layer slider on the right side of the screen at the height you want to add the pause, and select Add Color Change. Consult your slicer’s documentation for more information!

Papercraft this panel!

No 3D printer? No problem! You can “kitbash” this same Star Wars prop from cardboard, caps, and scraps!

Mechanical engineer Crew Parker is Lucasfilm’s asset coordinator, so he knows all about TV and movie props. He created a version of this project you can easily make from stuff at home — cardboard and paper, hot glue and Elmer’s, a Sharpie marker, colorful pushpins, and some bottle caps and lids scrounged from the trash to create your own greeblies — plus a little silver and gold paint. You can even add electronics like LEDs and real pushbuttons if you want!

Project Steps

1. Assemble the Base Panel2. Add Greeblies3. Add Knobs4. Add Lights

1. Assemble the Base Panel

1a. Using the sandpaper, rough the connecting edges of each panel so the super glue has a better surface to adhere to.

1b. Starting with panels A and B, apply super glue to the connecting edge of one panel, and use the notches to align the panels and hold them place while the glue sets.

Do the same for the remaining panel C.

1c. If you want to paint and sand the glued panels to hide the seam, now is a good time!

2. Add Greeblies

2a. Using super glue, secure the additional greeblies (detail pieces) onto the panel. The larger ring fits at the top of the panel.

2b. The smaller ring fits on the center right.

2c. Press-fit the square light covers into the panel. You can use hot glue to secure them if needed.

3. Add Knobs

3a. This print was designed to use standard 6mm (15mm shaft) potentiometers, typically used for audio equipment.

Place a spacer underneath the panel and ensure that the keys on the spacer fit into the registration holes on the panel. You can use super glue or hot glue to secure if needed.

3b. Place the potentiometer through the spacer and panel. The tab on the potentiometer should rest in one of the notches on the spacer to keep it in place.

3c. Secure the potentiometer with the supplied nut (typically a hex nut, size M7, with 0.75mm thread pitch). The needlenose pliers are helpful here!

3d. Repeat for the remaining three potentiometers.

3e. Once the pots are secured, add the potentiometer cover onto Panel B.

3f. Slide the 3D-printed knobs onto their potentiometers, using the notch for placement.

4. Add Lights

4a. Place 13 of the LEDs through the holes in panels A and C: 12 in the bottom grid and one in the top greeblie ring. If you are wiring this up for power later, it’s a good idea to make sure they’re all oriented in the same position. You can use hot glue to secure these if needed.

4b. Using hot glue, secure an LED behind each of the square light covers.

Conclusion

Now that your panel is assembled, connect it to your favorite microcontroller! Here’s how the original prop looks installed in the Rebel Hideout at ILM.

Tour the Hidden Worlds of ILM

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This article appeared in Make: Volume 99.