Star Surfer Star Core: A Lightweight Slider Built for Open Design

EDC DESIGN  ·  3D PRINTING  ·  OPEN DESIGN

A great slider is about more than its materials or weight. The way it rests in your hand, how comfortably your thumb can push it, and how reliably its parts fit together all shape the experience.

In this video, Star Surfer introduces an updated 3D-printed Star Core free-moving slider. The design brings together a new shell shape, a revised baseplate interface, and a lightweight setup. The creator also introduces OpenSwell, an open design system intended to give other makers a compatible starting point for their own slider projects.

A Shell Designed Around the Way You Push

The Star Core shell has a rounded, fuller shape that sits comfortably in the palm. The new Gem shell takes a different approach: angled surfaces create a broad, sloping area for the thumb to push against. The goal is to provide a comfortable contact point without a sharp edge.

The Gem shell is also shaped to feel slimmer where the fingers make contact, while retaining more material on the back. In other words, the design changes the feel in the hand without simply thinning every part of the shell.

Lightweight by Design, Adjustable by Choice

The standard setup weighs approximately 33 g. The creator favors a lighter slider for longer sessions, noting that heavier designs can become tiring to move over time. That is a personal preference, of course, and the design leaves room for users who want a heavier feel.

Each magnet plate has four recessed pockets, each about 7 mm across. With two plates, that gives the assembly eight positions for optional weights. The video mentions materials such as brass, copper, tungsten alloy, stainless steel, and lead; the amount of weight that can be added depends on the material and fit. The creator’s recommendation is to try the standard setup first and adjust only if needed.

The Swell System: A Better Interface Between Parts

The update also revises how the shell connects to the baseplate. The earlier design used a narrow rim around the edge. The new design replaces that continuous rim with four locating tabs and more clearance around the outside.

Moving the attachment points inward means the shell no longer needs extra width and length just to fit around the old rim. It also makes it easier to keep printed shells close to the dimensions of machined versions, helping the parts fit together more consistently.

Designed with 3D Printing in Mind

The revised interface also changes how the shell can be printed. The older shell was printed upright to achieve a fine exterior finish, but movement during printing could leave visible marks. Small details—such as holes, recessed areas, and curved features—could also be less precise.

With the new attachment layout, the shell can be printed flat. The creator says this produces a cleaner outline and more accurate dimensions, while allowing thicker sidewalls. The trade-off is that the top surface may show more of the natural texture of the print layers. Rather than treating that texture only as a flaw, the design can make it part of the finished look.

The new magnet plate is designed to slot onto the four tabs. The assembled shell fits snugly and does not wobble, although separating the parts may take a little more force. That tighter fit is intended to make the printed assembly feel sturdier.

Small Hardware Details, Smooth Everyday Use

The video also shows closed-end press-in threaded posts made for this version. They provide a secure fixing without requiring heat-set inserts, and their concentric-circle finish gives the exposed ends a more considered appearance. Black shells and matching black posts are shown as another styling option.

The configuration described in the video includes two CNC-machined 304 stainless-steel baseplates, with a contact layer on one face, plus three shells. The baseplates in this release do not have a DLC coating; nevertheless, the creator says the slider still feels smooth in use.

OpenSwell: Sharing the Design Foundation

OpenSwell is presented as an open design system for free-moving sliders. The planned release includes shell templates, four magnet plate designs, and a baseplate template in STEP format. These files are intended to give makers editable geometry and useful dimensions for designing compatible parts.

There is an important distinction: the creator says the complete finished models used to manufacture the commercial products will not be released. Instead, OpenSwell is intended to share the underlying geometry, dimensions, and fitting tolerances needed to work with the system’s interfaces.

That means a maker does not have to design an entire slider from scratch. They could start with a custom shell, adapt a Star Surfer product they already own, try a different shape or color, or add personal details such as decoration and engraving. A shell could be printed at home, by a friend, or through a print service. The video also mentions that users could choose different fixing methods, including press-in posts or heat-set inserts.

A Product—and a Platform for Personalization

Star Core brings together a light standard setup, two contrasting shell shapes, adjustable weight, and a revised interface designed to work well with 3D printing. OpenSwell extends that idea beyond one product by giving other makers a compatible design foundation.

For slider enthusiasts, the appeal is a setup that can be tuned to feel more personal. For makers, the more ambitious idea is that a well-defined interface can make customization easier without requiring everyone to start from zero.