Namibia – 3D Printing with Sand

ALEXANDER WENG

Solution

A big 6 x 6 meter Fresnel Lense is used to concentrate the sun light in one point. The point is heated up to the melting temperature of sand. Then the lense is moed slowly and a path of sintered glass like limestone is created. The path can follow an outline of the desired hut. Once the outline is created in 2D a thin layer of sand is added on top. The melting of the same outline is repeated. After many layers done like this, the wall of a hut is ready (still embedded in a hill of sand) and the outline can be reduced in size for each of the following layers to create the roof. The process equals to the Selective Laser Sintering process from the Company of EOS and uses the most abundant resources available in the desert – sand and heat. 

 

In field experimentation

Not yet experimented in field. To be done.