FollowMarkus Kayser’s brilliant solar-powered 3D printer works using two natural resources from the world’s deserts that are in no jeopardy of being used up any time soon: sun and sand. The printer beams the sun’s rays onto sand, which is then transformed into fascinating glass objects of an almost unlimited variety. We previously brought you a few images of the 3D printer being tested in Egypt, but today we snapped a few close-ups of the homegrown machine at the London Design Festival, where the Solar Sinter is proudly displayed at the Royal College of Art – Markus Kayser’s alma mater.
The new images show details of this incredible machine’s minimalist parts: a fresnel lens that concentrates the solar beams, a couple of small photovoltaic panels, an electric box/battery covered in aluminum foil, and a sun tracker. On the tray where the sun is beamed across the sand is an interesting silica sculpture ostensibly left over from Kayser’s last desert adventure.
On another table a bowl is displayed along with a plate. All of these incredibly durable pieces are precursors to even greater possibilities. Indeed, Kayser has expressed an interest in developing this technology to such an extent that it could be used to create sustainable construction materials for future buildings. If you’re in the city checking out the London Design Festival, we highly recommend a trip over to the Royal College of Art’s SUSTAIN exhibit to catch a glimpse of this award-winning design.
Source: inhabitat
