Hasta La Ideas

German designer Markus Kayser has built a 3D-printing machine that uses sunlight and sand to make glass objects in the desert.

Called The Solar Sinter, the device uses a large Fresnel lens to focus a beam of sunlight, creating temperatures between 1400 and 1600 degrees Celsius.

This is hot enough to melt silica sand and build up glass shapes, layer by layer, inside a box of sand mounted under the lens.

Solar-powered motors move the box on an x and y axis along a computer-controlled path and a new layer of sand is sprinkled on top after each pass of the light beam.

Light sensors track the sun as it moves across the sky and the whole machine rotates on its base to ensure the lens is always producing the optimum level of heat.

Once all the layers have been melted into place the piece is allowed to cool and dug out from the sand box.

Kayser developed the project while studying on the MA Design Products course at the Royal College of Art.

Graduate exhibition Show RCA 2011 continues in London until 3 July.

Here are some more details from Kayser:

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 triggers 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.

In the deserts of the world two elements dominate – sun and sand. The former offers a vast energy source of huge potential, the latter an almost unlimited supply of silica in the form of quartz. Silicia sand when heated to melting point and allowed to cool solidifies as glass. This process of converting a powdery substance via a heating process into a solid form is known as sintering and has in recent years become a central process in design prototyping known as 3D printing or SLS (selective laser sintering). These 3D printers use laser technology to create very precise 3D objects from a variety of powdered plastics, resins and metals – the objects being the exact physical counterparts of the computer-drawn 3D designs inputted by the designer. By using the sun’s rays instead of a laser and sand instead of resins, I had the basis of an entirely new solar-powered machine and production process for making glass objects that taps into the abundant supplies of sun and sand to be found in the deserts of the world.

My first manually operated solar-sintering machine was tested in February 2011 in the Moroccan desert with encouraging results that led to the development of the current larger and fully automated computer-driven version – the Solar-Sinter. The Solar-Sinter was completed in mid-May and later that month I took this experimental machine to the Sahara desert near Siwa, Egypt, for a two week testing period. The machine and the results of these first experiments presented here represent the initial significant steps towards what I envisage as a new solar-powered production tool of great potential.

The machine

The Solar-Sinter machine is based on the mechanical principles of a 3D printer.

A large Fresnel lens (1.4 x 1.0 metre) is positioned so that it faces the sun at all times via an electronic sun-tracking device, which moves the lens in vertical and horizontal direction and rotates the entire machine about its base throughout the day. The lens is positioned with its focal point directed at the centre of the machine and at the height of the top of the sand box where the objects will be built up layer by layer. Stepper motors drive two aluminium frames that move the sand box in the X and Y axes. Within the box is a platform that can move the vat of sand along the vertical Z axis, lowering the box a set amount at the end of each layer cycle to allow fresh sand to be loaded and levelled at the focal point.

Two photovoltaic panels provide electricity to charge a battery, which in turn drives the motors and electronics of the machine. The photovoltaic panels also act as a counterweight for the lens aided by additional weights made from bottles filled with sand.

3D printing process with sand and sunlight

The machine is run off an electronic board and can be controlled using a keypad and an LCD screen. Computer drawn models of the objects to be produced are inputted into the machine via an SD card. These files carry the code that directs the machine to move the sand box along the X, Y coordinates at a carefully calibrated speed, whilst the lens focuses a beam of light that produces temperatures between 1400°C and 1600°C, more than enough to melt the sand. Over a number of hours, layer by layer, an object is built within the confines of the sand box, only its uppermost layer visible at any one time. When the print is completed the object is allowed to cool before being dug out of the sand box. The objects have rough sandy reverse side whilst the top surface is hard glass. The exact colour of the resulting glass will depend on the composition of the sand, different deserts producing different results. By mixing sands, combinatory colours and material qualities may be achieved.

Machine and man

With the scenario of a single person’s utilisation of the machine in the desert, I play with ideas of how an individual could use the machine to produce objects.

In this first instance the creation of artefacts made by sunlight and sand is an act of pure experimentation and expression of ‘possibility’, but what of the future? I hope that the machine and the objects it created, stimulate debate about the vast potential of solar energy and naturally abundant materials like silica sand. These first experiments are simply an early manifestation of that potential.

Machine and community

In the context of a desert-based community, the Solar-Sinter machine could be used to create unique artefacts and functional objects, but also act as a catalyst for solar innovation for more prosaic and immediate needs. Further development could lead to additional solar machine processes such as solar welding, cutting, bending and smelting to build up a fully functioning solar workshop.

The vibrant and global ‘open-source’ community is already active in developing software and hardware for 3D printers and could play a key role in the rapid development of these technologies. The Solar-Sinter could simply be the starting point for a variety of further applications.

Machine and manufacture

In 1933, through the pages of ‘Modern Mechanix’ magazine, W.W. Beach was already imagining canals and “auto roads“ melted into the desert using sunlight focused through immense lenses. This fantastical large-scale approach is much closer to reality today, with ‘desert factories’ using sunlight as their power a tangible prospect. This image of a multiplicity of machines working in a natural cycle from dusk till Dawn presents a new idea of what manufacturing could be.

The objects could be anything from glass vessels to eventually the glass surfaces for photovoltaic panels that provide the factories power source… and, as Mr. Beach imagined 78 years ago, the water channels and glass roads that service them.

Dreaming of architecture

Printing directly onto the desert floor with multiple lenses melting the sand into walls, eventually building architecture in desert environments, could also be a real prospect.

Experiments in 3D printing technologies are already reaching towards an architectural scale and it is not hard to imagine that, if partnered with the solar-sintering process demonstrated by the Solar-Sinter machine, this could indeed lead to a new desert-based architecture.

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Solar furniture maker by Mischer’Traxler	Virtual potter’s wheel by Unfold	Food-printing machine by Philips Design

The world’s first 3D-printed bikini has gone on sale, created by designers Jenna Fizel and Mary Haung of Continuum Fashion.

Called N12, the design comprises discs of varying sizes, linked together by springs.

These circles are smaller on parts of the garment that need to curve round the body and larger on areas with flatter contours.

The designers envisage that bespoke items of clothing could be made according to a body scan of the customer.

The project was developed in collaboration with 3D-printing company Shapeways and can be purchased through the online shop.

Photographs are by Ariel Efron.

The information below is from Continuum Fashion:

Designed by Continuum Fashion in collaboration with Shapeways the N12 if the first completely 3D-printed, ready-to-wear, item of clothing. Previous experiments into the use of 3D printing in clothing have remained purely experimental, haute couture items not available to purchase. This represents the first affordable design that will lead the way for more items fabricated using 3D printing technologies.

“The bikini’s design fundamentally reflects the beautiful intricacy possible with 3D printing, as well as the technical challenges of creating a flexible surface out of the solid nylon. Thousands of circular plates are connected by thin springs, creating a wholly new material that holds its form as well as being flexible. The layout of the circle pattern was achieved through custom written code that lays out the circles according to the curvature of the surface. In this way, the aesthetic design is completely derived from the structural design.” Mary Haung, Continuum Fashion

The patterning starts with a curved surface, some geometry to indicate edges and value ranges for the circles sizes and tolerance parameters. The pattern begins placing circles at a point near the edge. Each subsequent circles tries to stay as near to the nearest edge geometry at possible. The circle’s size is determined with this nearness and by the local curvature of the surface. Curvier areas get small circles and flatter areas larger, both to help with accurately approximating the surface and to ensure flexibility where it is needed and efficiency of pattern where it is not.

Every time a bend or elbow is encountered in the surface edge, a small gap will be left in the pattern. Gaps will also occur near the middle distances between edges where the placement of the next circle is less certain. After the first level of pattern has been created, these open areas are infilled with smaller circles to ensure complete coverage, and to create a more interesting aesthetic pattern.

One of the goals of the circle patterning system is to be able to adapt it to any surface, at any size. This means that future articles of clothing can be produced using the same algorithm, this could be taken a step further into absolute customization by using a body scan to make a bespoke article of clothing, 3D printed to exactly fit that person only.

Continuum Fashion is comprised of Jenna Fizel and Mary Haung. Jenna designs and programs interactive environments at Small Design Firm in Cambridge, MA. She has previously worked at KPF in computational geometry and has her BSAD in Architecture from MIT. Jenna is interested in reinterpreting traditional crafts and manufacturing using computational tools. Mary has a BA in Design and Media Arts from UCLA, and a MA from the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID). Most recently, she worked in interaction design at Local Projects in NYC. Her other notable work includes Rhyme & Reason–a collection of LED dresses, and TYPEFACE–a software piece combining facial recognition and typography.

Shapeways is the online community and marketplace for personalized production where anyone can make and sell their own creations or buy custom‐made products, fabricated on demand in a variety of materials using the latest 3D printing technologies.

With headquarters in New York City and production facilities in Europe and the United States, Shapeways hosts a vibrant community of passionate creatives from around the world.

Model: Bojana Draskovic

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3D-printed dresses by Widrig and .MGX	Snake&Molting legwear by Camille Cortet	3D-printed shoes by Andreia Chaves

London architect Daniel Widrig has collaborated with fashion designer Iris van Herpen and digital manufacturers .MGX by Materialise to create a collection of digitally printed clothing.

Called Escapism, the project is a development of an earlier collaboration between the designers (see our earlier story), to make more lightweight and flexible 3D printed dresses.

The collection was presented at Paris Fashion Week.

Photographs are by Michel Zoeter.

Above: headdress is by Stephen Jones

More projects by Daniel Widrig on Dezeen »
More fashion on Dezeen »

Above: shoes are by United Nude

The following information is from Widrig:

Escapism is a continuation of the collaboration between London based architect Daniel Widrig and dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen.

The project started with Crystallization, the first fashion collection ever featuring 3d printed dresses. Crystallization was launched at the Amsterdam Fashion Week in 2010.

Escapism attempted to further investigate possibilities and potentiality of advanced digital design techniques and computer aided manufacturing in the realm of haute couture fashion design.

Above: shoes are by United Nude

Based on earlier experiences made with digitally manufactured dresses, Escapism pushes the limits of 3D printing in order to increase the wearability of the pieces.

The dresses are composed of clusters of fiber-like elements with minimized diameters. The fineness of the printed lines of the fabric makes the overall objects lightweight, flexible and allows for an economic production.

Above: shoes are by United Nude

The geometric concept further allowed the designers to create larger objects without comprimising wearability and the model’s mobility on the catwalk.

The collection was produced in collaboration with New York based label .MGX by Materialise via selective laser sintering (SLS) in Polyamide.
Escapism was first presented at the Paris Fashion Week earlier this year.

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Crystallization by Iris van Herpen and Daniel Widrig	Snake&Molting legwear by Camille Cortet	Shell by Julia Krantz

These conceptual cooling units by London designers PostlerFerguson would be made from 3D-printed sand.

Called Microclimates, the pods would be printed layer by layer on a large rapid-prototyping machine using locally sourced sand and a magnesium binging agent.

Water evaporating from the porous material would lower the temperature of the sand, in turn cooling the air as it flows through each pod.

A complex internal structure would create a large surface area for this heat exchange to take place efficiently.

The project was designed for Dubai gallery and studio Traffic.

More about PostlerFerguson on Dezeen »

The information below is from the designers:

Microclimates/Postlerferguson 2010

What strikes us about Dubai is the energy and technological sophistication of the city that has arisen in the last few decades in one of the most ancient areas of human civilization. Dubai’s architecture is striking not only for its design, but also for the leaps in construction technology employed to realize it.

Our proposal draws on both the hypermodern, global city of today and the traditional building techniques that are ancient Dubai’s heritage. Microclimates is not just an installation, but a building language that can be reused again and again to create new public spaces. Traditional Islamic architecture dealt sustainably with the harsh desert climate by careful control of light and airflow through elements such as the masharabiya, wind towers, and earthen walls.

Microclimates are built up layer by layer out of locally sourced sand combined with a magnesium based binder. Using custom software, Microclimates is based on a three-dimensional interpretation of the masharabiya built from local sand by using a large scale rapid prototyping machine (developed by D-Shape), with a complex internal structure whose large internal surface area efficiently conditions air passing through it by evaporative cooling.

Combining the principals behind these ancient building elements with the most advanced computer-aided manufacturing techniques, we are able to create new methods of construction that draw on the aesthetic and sustainable benefits of traditional buildings to realize a modern vision of what 21st century architecture in Dubai could achieve.

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Wooden Giants by PostlerFerguson	Buoy Lamps by PostlerFerguson	Selfridges window by PostlerFerguson