Innovative 3D printer is powered by solar power, coughs out stunning glassware

Mar 20, 2014 23:11 GMT  ·  By

By now, environmentalists have grown to be well aware of the fact that solar energy is super awesome, what with its ability to power pretty much everything and not pollute the environment in the process.

Still, here is one piece of news bound to get the attention of not just greenheads, but also technology enthusiasts. Thus, Inhabitat tells us that one Markus Kayser has managed to use solar power to turn sand into glass bowls, sculptures and the like.

More precisely, this brainiac has put together a 3D digital printer that is kept up and running by sun energy, and which uses desert sand instead of traditional resin in the production process.

The same source tells us that, in order to produce fairly complex glassware, this solar-powered 3D printer first melts the sand and then molds it into whatever shape the human monitoring the process is looking to obtain.

Markus Kayser's installation is called the Solar Sinter, and the graduate student claims that, as surprising as this may sound, it can even produce furniture using sand as its raw material.

From where I stand, this project just goes to prove that clean energy sources have the potential to transform our lives just as much as fossil fuels have. What do you think? Let me know in the comments section below.