Solar 3D printer uses sand and sun

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Imagine a contraption that could create actual three-dimensional objects just by sitting smack dab in the middle of the Sahara desert. 3D printing is already almost unfathomably futuristic (not to mention cool), but the so-called Solar Sinter takes the method to the next level.

Traditional 3D printing builds up successive layers of material (often resin or plaster) into what emerges as a three dimensional object. The Solar Sinter, an amazingly clever undertaking crafted by sand-sculptor Markus Kayser, employs a parallel, entirely sustainable technique.

By unfurling his somewhat portable (though unwieldy) solar-powered 3D printer under the Saharan sun, he harnesses the sun's rays to do the work of a laser in a traditional 3D printer setup. And rather than using a resin-like substance for the additive layers of material, his device ingeniously makes use of the desert's other most plentiful feature — sand.

To really understand what's happening here, don't miss the video above. In his demonstration, Kayser "prints" two objects, a rather abstract figurine and a bowl, but the sustainable production possibilities are endless. Endless so long as you don't run out of sun or sand — but in the middle of the Sahara, that might take a good long while.

just... awesome.

 

[remixedcat]

wow this is awesome... I want one!

 

[twilyth]

I'm not sure how many useful things you can make out of raw glass, but the fact that he got it to work at all is pretty amazing.

 

[Easy Rhino]

minecraft?

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

+1 but imagine something simple but done on mass bricks revolution

minecraft?

lol v much

 

[Drone]

What an innovative and creative way to use sunpower and sand. I'd "print" the Pyramid of Khufu or two.

 

[TheMailMan78]

Very cool. Sadly hes an artist like myself so no one will listen. lol

To much "education" (indoctrination) blinds the masses as usual.

I'm not sure how many useful things you can make out of raw glass, but the fact that he got it to work at all is pretty amazing.

You missed the whole point.

 

[twilyth]

You missed the whole point.

That's quite possible, so please do explain.

 

[Iceni]

the point is the tech is free.

Now on earth the situational use is limited. You could use it to help out 3rd world countries make building blocks roof tiles ect.

However when you look at MARS the project gains a lot of credibility. Dump a few automated robots in the desert and have them chalk up 1 million building blocks, roof tiles, and water pipes and you have yourself some real viability. This would mean you could have all the hard material in 1 place, granted the building blocks would not be airtight, But they would give protection to lightweight materials, so you could hard shell a soft structure. This could bring the space race to Mars into a reality in our life times.

 

[twilyth]

That's a great idea, but I think the biggest issue is going to be quality control. You can probably add a few sensors to analyze the sand first and some fuzzy logic to determine if a batch is suitable to a particular purpose, but even that has limits.

I think the best use would be 3rd world building materials. I mean hell, in India the poorest people still use asbestos board for roofing. Virtually anything has to be better than that.

 

[TheMailMan78]

That's quite possible, so please do explain.

the point is the tech is free.

Now on earth the situational use is limited. You could use it to help out 3rd world countries make building blocks roof tiles ect.

However when you look at MARS the project gains a lot of credibility. Dump a few automated robots in the desert and have them chalk up 1 million building blocks, roof tiles, and water pipes and you have yourself some real viability. This would mean you could have all the hard material in 1 place, granted the building blocks would not be airtight, But they would give protection to lightweight materials, so you could hard shell a soft structure. This could bring the space race to Mars into a reality in our life times.

Um no. The point of this wasn't the machine making glass blocks and how using glass blocks could be applied to future construction. The idea was to open the minds of people to think outside the confines of the establishment and what it dictates as normal.

The fact that an artist built a little automated BS machine to make something normally "understood" to take a lot of space and resources proves this. The twist is the fact he did it naturally. 100% from the sun and true natural resources isn't the fact he can make blocks. Its the fact he did it by himself using our natural environment. What he was making with that machine is irrelevant. Its the idea. The vision is what he wanted to show you. Thinking outside the establishment is what betters humanity. Not bureaucracy and the status quo.

So forget what he was making. Its not important. You are missing the point completely. What made him think of it. THATS what he wants you to pursue.

Fuck leave it up to a tech forum to look at a master oil painting and worry about "What kind of paint is he using?" instead of "What is he painting?"

 

[twilyth]

Um no. The point of this wasn't the machine making glass blocks and how using glass blocks could be applied to future construction. The idea was to open the minds of people to think outside the confines of the establishment and what it dictates as normal.

The fact that an artist built a little automated BS machine to make something normally "understood" to take a lot of space and resources proves this. The twist is the fact he did it naturally. 100% from the sun and true natural resources isn't the fact he can make blocks. Its the fact he did it by himself using our natural environment. What he was making with that machine is irrelevant. Its the idea. The vision is what he wanted to show you. Thinking outside the establishment is what betters humanity. Not bureaucracy and the status quo.

So forget what he was making. Its not important. You are missing the point completely. What made him think of it. THATS what he wants you to pursue.

Fuck leave it up to a tech forum to look at a master oil painting and worry about "What kind of paint is he using?" instead of "What is he painting?"

Oh, get a grip. People come up with brilliant ideas everyday, think outside the bun every day, etc, etc. Oh yeah, and it's not just artists doing that, although I can understand if you want to believe otherwise.

You remind me of all of those critics who look at a sculpture or a poem and read into it whatever the fuck they want. Their critique becomes a paean to their own "genius" rather than having anything at all to do with what was originally intended.

 

[TheMailMan78]

Oh, get a grip. People come up with brilliant ideas everyday, think outside the bun every day, etc, etc. Oh yeah, and it's not just artists doing that, although I can understand if you want to believe otherwise.

You remind me of all of those critics who look at a sculpture or a poem and read into it whatever the fuck they want. Their critique becomes a paean to their own "genius" rather than having anything at all to do with what was originally intended.

Is that why you were going on and on about the applications of the machine? You are just mad you missed the point. It was about high tech going natural. He even talks about it in the description lol

And no.....most people do not think outside the box.

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.

Solar-sintering aims to raise questions about the future of manufacturing and trigger dreams of the full utilisation of the production potential of the world’s most efficient energy resource - the sun. Whilst not providing definitive answers this experiment aims to provide a point of departure for fresh thinking.

This project was developed at the Royal College of Art during my MA studies in Design Products on Platform 13.

 

[twilyth]

Is that why you were going on and on about the applications of the machine? You are just mad you missed the point. It was about high tech going natural. He even talks about it in the description lol

And no.....most people do not think outside the box.

Honestly, I couldn't possibly care less about his motivations or intentions. If that's what's important to you, then fine. Just don't try to pretend that you "get it" when everyone else doesn't. NO. Everyone else just doesn't care. There's a difference.

 

[TheMailMan78]

Honestly, I couldn't possibly care less about his motivations or intentions. If that's what's important to you, then fine. Just don't try to pretend that you "get it" when everyone else doesn't. NO. Everyone else just doesn't care. There's a difference.

Its ok.....you missed the point.

 

[streetfighter 2]

Too much "education" (indoctrination) blinds the masses as usual.

FTFY.

In my experience, it's not too much education that's causing problems . . .

 

[twilyth]

Its ok.....you missed the point.

Oh there's an important point here, but I'm not the one who missed it.

 

[TheMailMan78]

FTFY.

In my experience, it's not too much education that's causing problems . . .

You would be surprised. Ive delt with college masters that couldn't see the forest from trees due to education.....the wrong kind.

 

[streetfighter 2]

You would be surprised. Ive delt with college masters that couldn't see the forest from trees.

I've met adults that couldn't read and still they could not see the forest from the trees. I do not see a correlation between education (or lack of education) and critical thinking skills. Perhaps there's a correlation between "quality of education" and critical thinking (as twilyth implied).

"We are all agreed that your theory is crazy. The question that divides us is whether it is crazy enough to have a chance of being correct." - Niels Bohr

A shitty education teaches you to parrot back whatever you're taught for a good grade.

whatever you're taught for a good grade.
whatever you're taught for a good grade.

 

[twilyth]

You would be surprised. Ive delt with college masters that couldn't see the forest from trees due to education.....the wrong kind.

That's the difference between a good education and a shitty one. A good education teaches you to look at every aspect of a problem and not to make unwarranted assumptions. A shitty education teaches you to parrot back whatever you're taught for a good grade.

 

[TheMailMan78]

I've met adults that couldn't read and still they could not see the forest from the trees. I do not see a correlation between education (or lack of education) and critical thinking skills.

A lot of educators teach political and ideological theory instead of fact. I see kids wear Che Guevara t-shirts that have no idea who he was but think "hes awesome". See education is the greatest gift man can give himself. However if not used correctly it can be the greatest curse.

Most people look at this guys experiment and think "what can we use this for? How can we exploit this idea?" instead of thinking "How can I do something like it?" and "What is he trying to say?". Most obviously most didn't even read the f#@king description. Its all because of the education they received and an indoctrinated way of thinking.

Why do you think scholars, scientists, poets and artists were respected during the renaissance? It was because they were the ones moving humanity forward with free thought out of the dark ages were status quo was well the status quo. Today all you hear is "I can't do this because no one else has." from our youth. Why? Because schools teach above everything else respect for the establishment. School uniforms, mandatory reading etc etc. Nothing that will make them think there is something more in life. Something that they can do to change things.

Sure they talk about "change" and "being different" but thats only because their peers are. Mob mentality to the extreme. But what do they do? What they are told they can do by the establishment.

Anyway I digress. Bottom line. Open your mind. This video was about doing something about using your thoughts in a different fashion. Thats it.

That's the difference between a good education and a shitty one. A good education teaches you to look at every aspect of a problem and not to make unwarranted assumptions. A shitty education teaches you to parrot back whatever you're taught for a good grade.

Have you seen some of the kids coming out of college today? Hell have you dealt with them? Most have never read a history book in highschool!

 

[twilyth]

The sad part here is that you actually believe your gross over-generalizations.

 

[newtekie1]

Um no. The point of this wasn't the machine making glass blocks and how using glass blocks could be applied to future construction. The idea was to open the minds of people to think outside the confines of the establishment and what it dictates as normal.

The fact that an artist built a little automated BS machine to make something normally "understood" to take a lot of space and resources proves this. The twist is the fact he did it naturally. 100% from the sun and true natural resources isn't the fact he can make blocks. Its the fact he did it by himself using our natural environment. What he was making with that machine is irrelevant. Its the idea. The vision is what he wanted to show you. Thinking outside the establishment is what betters humanity. Not bureaucracy and the status quo.

So forget what he was making. Its not important. You are missing the point completely. What made him think of it. THATS what he wants you to pursue.

Fuck leave it up to a tech forum to look at a master oil painting and worry about "What kind of paint is he using?" instead of "What is he painting?"

Nothing he did was thinking outside the box.

Oh wow, he burnt something with the power of the sun and a big magnifying glass! People have been doing that for years.

Oh wow, he used sand and heat to make things. People have been doing that for years.

The only reason people haven't used standard desert sand is because it is so inconsistant that it is useless as an end product.

All he did was taking things that have already been done for years and apply it to something that no one really has before(standard desert sand) becauce it has no practical use.

 

[TheMailMan78]

The sad part here is that you actually believe your gross over-generalizations.

Not true. I take people how they come to me personally. I know you are a smart guy twilyth you know EXACTLY what I am talking about.

Nothing he did was thinking outside the box.

Oh wow, he burnt something with the power of the sun and a big magnifying glass! People have been doing that for years.

Oh wow, he used sand and heat to make things. People have been doing that for years.

The only reason people haven't used standard desert sand is because it is so inconsistant that it is useless as an end product.

All he did was taking things that have already been done for years and apply it to something that no one really has before(standard desert sand) becauce it has no practical use.

lol Yeah people all the time build an automated machine that uses the sun and sand to make a bowl. All the time! Hell I have one in my backyard right now making a dildo out of apple cores and Chinese news papers!

 

[newtekie1]

lol Yeah people all the time build an automated machine that uses the sun and sand to make a bowl. All the time! Hell I have one in my backyard right now making a dildo out of apple cores and Chinese news papers!

People have built things to use heat(from various sources) to make 3D objects out of sand for years. This is nothing new.

People have been melting things with the sun for centuries.

He combined the two ideas. Is it something mildly new that no one has ever done before? Maybe, but certainly isn't anything to go "OMG this is so outside the box" about.

The only thing that is "outside the box" is the sand used. Using standard desert sand is something no one has really cared to do, because the resulting product is useless.