Why mess with printing petroleum-based plastic when there are whole deserts full of sand? Markus Kayser’s Solar Sinter Project converted a hot dog cart constructed a 3D printer that uses a giant Fresnel lens to sinter sand into 3D glass objects. Done as part of his MA studies at the Royal College of Art. There doesn’t seem to be plans (as of yet) to develop this further. That’s ok (no it’s not) because this video of him dragging the printer out into the Sahara and putting the sun to work is absolutely inspiring.
Solar Sintering the Sand
In a world increasingly concerned with questions of energy production and raw material shortages, this project explores the potential of desert manufacturing, where energy and material occur in abundance. In this experiment sunlight and sand are used as raw energy and material to produce glass objects using a 3D printing process, that combines natural energy and material with high-tech production technology.
Source: Markus Kayser’s Vimeo Page
Image Credit: Markus Kayser
