This Predator-Inspired Laser Gun Fires a 50 mW Laser

The Predator film franchise began with 1987’s The Predator starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as “Dutch,” the legendary Green Beret who fights for survival against an alien hunter. Later films of the franchise, including 2004’s Alien vs. Predator, have shown that the eponymous predators exist within the same universe as Ridley Scott’s Alien.In every movie within the two franchises in which the “Predators” are present, they’re shown to have advanced weaponry. That includes the unique shoulder-mounted laser turret with its iconic triple laser sights. Joep Eijkemans has used that as the inspiration for this 3D-printed laser gun that fires a 50 mW laser.

Before you go and replicate this build, you should understand that lasers like this are potentially dangerous. A 50 mW laser is fairly low power, but it can still cause serious damage — particularly to your eyes. Simply put, don’t play with lasers unless you know what you’re doing. In this case Eijkemans is actually using four individual lasers. Three of those are red 5 mW laser modules like those that you would find in a common pen style laser pointer. The fourth is the stronger 50 mW laser, which is green in color to set it apart from the red lasers.

All of the plastic parts of the laser gun were 3D-printed on an Ender 3, and were modeled by Eijkemans. The model is broken up into many pieces to give it a high quality appearance. That includes a cover — which is actually the battery power pack — that can pop open to let the user “arm” the weapon. An Arduino Nano board is used to control the lasers. After taking it out of safe mode, the user can flip on the three red laser sights that form the familiar targeting triangle. They can then pull the trigger to fire the far more powerful green laser. For fans of the Predator films, this is a fun build and it would make a great addition to some cosplay.