Can sun and sand help power the future? Markus Kayser is a designer who is interested the potential natural energy and technology and develops projects to explore current methodologies in manufacturing and the potential of new production scenarios. His latest project, SolarSinter, uses sunlight and sand as raw energy and material to produce glass objects using a 3D printing process, combining natural energy and material with high-tech production technology. The project was setup in the desert, and explores the potential of desert manufacturing, where energy and material are in abundance.
The inspiration for SolarSinter started in 2010, when Kayser took his first solar machine the Sun-Cutter to the Egyptian desert. The Sun-Cutter was a solar-powered, semi-automated low-tech laser cutter, that used the power of the sun to power and ‘laser’ cut 2D components out of plywood. While working on this project, Kayser got the idea to make a new machine that would combine the potential of the sun as well as the sand. He researched the process of 3D printing, which use laser technology and resin to create 3D objects from a powder material, and created the SolarSinter.
The SolarSinter was tested in the Moroccan desert and later in the Sahara desert near Siwa, Egypt. Kayser was able to create some objects with his setup, and the SolarSinter presents the potential of using sun and sand for production.
Is this the power of the future? The SolarSinter presents innovative solutions to use the abundant resources of the sun and sand offers an almost unlimited supply of silica in the form of quartz.
Image Source:
www.markuskayser.com/
Links: