Disclaimer: If you think that kids (or adults for that matter) should not play with gun-like toys at all, this post is not for you and you better move on. Everyone else who enjoys the occasional "pew, pew, pew" - just like I do - have fun!

Recently, my kid asked me to build him a "real" laser blaster and since this is right up my alley (involving 3D-printing, soldering and well ... laser blasters!) I immediately went to work.

Part List

Here' is what I used:

• 2 x 3V coin battery (e.g. CR2016)
• 5V red laser diode (650nm)
• push button
• 330 Ohm Ω resistor
• 3D-printed parts

The Design

Then I went and designed the parts in TinkerCad.

Fritzing Schematic

Here's also a Fritzing schematic of the blaster to give you a better idea.

I put the 2 3V coin batteries into the grip of the blaster. The laser diode needs at least 5V but can easily handle the 1 extra volt.

For better visual feedback, I also added a red LED into the pistol's tip. I sits behind the actual laser diode and lights up the tip in a red glow, when the trigger button is pressed. For that reason, the tip of the blaster is printed with translucent PLA.

The Blaster

This is the readily assembled blaster. If you look closely, you can see that the tip is of a different material (translucent) then the rest of the body.

And now, the fun can start.