Video: Solar Sinter Project Turns the Desert’s Free Abundance of Sand and Sun into 3-D-Printed Glass

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Markus Kayser’s Solar Sinter project takes the desert’s two most abundant resources, sunlight and sand and puts them to work manufacturing glass objects. Kayser loads the sand into a solar-powered 3-D printer where it serves as the raw material for glass. In a process that’s fascinating to watch, concentrated sunlight replaces the laser typically found in 3D printers, melting sand (instead of resin) in patterns to form an abstract sculpture or, more usefully, a bowl.

Kayser tested the Solar Sinter for two weeks in the Sahara desert in May of this year; you can see the results in the video below. The project is currently on display at the Royal College of Arts in London.

[Markus Kayser via Engadget]