I made the vampiric sword from Owari No Seraph, which is a broad sword that drinks blood through the handle. After imbibing the blood from the wielder, the blade turns red and in strengthened. My imitation of this sword is 3-D printed sword and includes red LEDs. I enjoy cosplaying and nothing finishes off a cosplay like a character's signature weapon. The steps I took can be used to make any sword.

The tools and materials were provided by Ms.Berbawy and Berbawy Makers.

Sword.stl
Download View in 3D

Supplies

Gold PETG

Transparent PETG

Black PETG

1/4" Wooden Dowel

Prusa Mini and Prusa i3 MK3S+

Step 1: CAD: the Blade

Sketch.

First I made the silhouette of the blade from the front view. This determines the width of the blade and determines what kind of blade it is. My sword is a broadsword, but if I were to make a rapier or a gladius I'd adjust the width of the blade. Then extrude the blade to how thick I wanted the blade to be.

Creating the edge.

To make the edge I made a triangle shape at the top of the blade and on another sketch created a path following the edge. Then using the sweep tool and selecting the sketch and the path made following the edge you have the blade as a whole piece.

Creating the connecting piece and LED Hole.

Since the blade will be made from transparent PETG I wanted to use a few connectors as possible but still maintain a rigid sword. I made extra connections between the blade and the handle to add stability. I also made the center hole square to accommodate the LED strip.

Slicing the blade.

The blade is about 21 inches long, so it needs to be cut into smaller pieces to be printable. I sliced the blade into 3, 6-inch pieces in Fusion 360 and created connecting pegs to fit them together.

Making connectors.

This is an optional step since the dowel will hold everything in place when gluing, but I found that making connectors to set the pieces in place makes the blade more stable and secure. This keeps the blade from being 'floppy'.

Step 2: CAD: the Hilt

Create the connecting piece

Make a sketch using a projected outline of the top view of the blade. Extrude it as long as necessary to make it stable. Make sure to have a tolerance of at least 0.2 inches.

Creating the centerpiece

I took a picture of the sword from the show and divided the hilt into simple shapes that I could CAD more easily.

Create the connecting pillars inside the cavity.

Why are the pillars inside the hilt rather than the blade? The pillars in the hilt are protected by the walls around it making it harder to break. The pillars are also the same length as the connecting area so the cavity where the hilt and blade connect don't require as many supports.

Fillet

I filleted the edges for safety reasons. This is a sword, but I don't want this to cause any accidents, and reducing the amount of sharp corners and edges helps prevent injuries.

Detailing

In the centerpiece of the hilt, I used depth to add details and give it the illusion of being more intricate.

Connectors

I added connectors on top. This isn't required but I did this to make life easier for me when I assembled everything.

Step 3: CAD: Guard

Sketch

Since my guard is symmetrical I just made 1/4 of the hilt before reflecting it on the x and y axis. For my sword, I split the guard into two pieces.

Extrude

Since my guard is spilt through the middle I made my extrudes much thinner. Another thing to keep in mind is how bulky the top is. I made mine as thin as I could make it and it goes over the hilt only by a small amount.

Fillet

The grooves aren't supposed to be sharp so just as a precaution I fillet the edges just to be safe.

Duplicating

To create the other side of the guard I duplicated and reflected the one I already made.

Threading

I created a hole in the center and threaded it so when making the handle I could make a twistable handle that is able to come off at any time.

Connectors

Like the other components of the sword I made holes for the pillars I made on the hilt and I made them with a 0.2-inch tolerance. I also created pillars going horizontally to hold them in place while gluing.

Step 4: CAD: Handle

Planning

Creating the handle was a challenge since I used the handle to hold the power bank for the LED strip.

Sketch

I made the main area of the handle by creating a large circular sketch and a smaller one on an offset plane.

Threading 1

I made a threaded bottom to connect to the threaded hole in the guard. Something I did to make the threads slide better was downsizing the threaded piece of the handle just by a little. (For me I just needed to size it down to 0.985 inches).

Top

I made another offset plane and created another large circle (I reused the large circle from Step 1.) This just makes sure your hand won't slip off if your grip loosens.

Hollow

I hollowed out the inside making sure that my power bank could fit inside. Something else I added the small ledge that keeps the power bank from sliding out of the handle and into the hilt.

Cap

I made a new body and used the top of the handle to create a cap that would fit perfectly. Then projecting the hollowed-out area I made the extruding area that I'll thread so the top can be twisted on and off.

Threading 2

Threading the protruding part of the cap. (Make sure to check with the analysis tool to make sure they fit together). Then scale down like before.

Chamfer or fillet

We like to avoid injuries and accidents.

Step 5: Test Printing

Now that everything is CADed it's time to test print. Why test print? Because no one wants to print everything fully and then end up with parts that don't fit together.

I printed the connecting parts and only the connecting parts to make sure everything was snug together and didn't have too much of a tolerance or too little. For me, I had issues with the threading at first and after consulting my classmates I found the solution of sizing down the threaded areas. The LED strip was another issue for me as well since I assumed the LEDs wouldn't be too big (I was wrong, never assume).

Another thing I needed to test was the light strips through the filament. For me, I found that 15% infill was perfect for distributing the light and keeping the sword lightweight since too much weight would cause it to be too heavy and hard to lift.

Everything else fit fine thankfully, but this is why test printing is so essential when 3-D printing.

Step 6: Printing

Blade (Transparent PETG)

I printed everything vertically without any supports for any of the midsection pieces on a Prusa mini. I printed one of the top section, one of the bottom section, and 4 of the middle section. The tip of the blade has supports since the connectors go out instead of in and the tip is pointing up to minimize the amount of needed supports.

Hilt (Gold PETG)

I used the same mini and used the automatic paint-on supports feature on Prusa slicer with the organic support setting at 0.2 (detachable). I oriented it to require the least amount of support.

Guard (Gold PETG)

I printed the guards on the side with the indents since the indents were filleted and wouldn't cause a problem during printing. I printed them on a Prusa i3 MK3S+ because they needed more space.

Handle (Gold and Black PETG)

The handle was printed upright alongside the cap on a mini. In Prusa Slicer, you can set the machine to stop at a level so there can be a color change. I changed the color at the top of the band from gold to black.

Step 7: Assembling/Gluing

Blade

This was the easiest to glue together since it can be sat on its side to dry and it doesn't require any clamping to keep it together. I didn't have the LED strip or dowel inside while it dried.

Hilt

The hilt was easier to attach and put together. I put glue along the connectors to connect them to the blade and set it to dry on its own. Attaching the foam wasn't difficult I used the brush from the gorilla glue and painted along the interior where the foam should stick and used clips to keep them attached while drying.

Guard