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I am amused. I will allow it. |
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Hmmm. It sounds fun, but what is the printing strategy? |
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There are various ways to '3d print' stuff, but usually you add stuff in layers of some sort. If you want overhangs, you usually need at least a temporary support. This can be unfused material or a removable support (of another, easily removed material, or, if there's no better way, a support which is removed manually after printing). |
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In line with that, perhaps the most "3D printing" approach would be to put down layers of extremely dry sand, then print with water as the binder. When it was entirely done, you could carefully vacuum away the dry sand. To get this to work reliably and well, it may be necessary to include a fairly weak, soluble (presumably biodegradable) adhesive in the binding water.
It would be quite an operation, certainly. |
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The time you state - half an hour - is actually quite short for 3D printing. If you could lay down one 1mm layer per minute, you'd only get 6 cm (just over 2 and a quarter inch) of height per hour.
(edit - oh, I see that's the display time. Never mind, carry on) |
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My guess would be that a wet sand CNC machine would be able to provide larger, more detailed sculptures in a shorter time-frame. |
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Could maybe to a multi nozzle affair that would just rise instead of zig zagging around. Then have all the nozzles spray the water to wash it away prepping for the next one. |
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You could add something soluble like sugar to the water so that it crystallizes as it drys. |
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I agree that a wet-sand CNC machine will probably be more "better", but making an additive system could be interesting. |
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My thought would be to use the drip sandcastle technique (see link). Obviously that would take a little work to get the sand/water mixing right in print head, but I suspect a mechanized form of this could get much more consistent results. You might even get as far as a few degrees of overhang angle. I don't see a good option for support though. |
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Boy, might be able to do that with a small unit on the ground just spraying a stream. Would be very rough, but after a couple of hours could get some reasonable art out of it. |
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You know, another thing might just be a little robot skip loader. It'd just to designs in the sand but those might be more detailed. |
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Would probably have a string attached to a stake it wrapped around sculpting as it went working in ever smaller concentric circles, spiraling inwards or outwards. |
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//add something soluble like sugar to the water// |
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Then you could make a speeded-up film of the ants subtracting it later. |
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Ant sculpture! I like it. |
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Ooh!
If you inject sugar trails into only certain areas of the sand sculpture the ants will mine a custom shape which you could later pour metal into... after the ants have vacated it of course. |
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I'm liking this ant thing. |
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Should put that up. I'll bun it. |
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No. This is how shit works. |
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Somebody thinks of something. Others add to it. The idea makes a quantum leap and becomes reality. Then it evolves... or doesn't depending on circumstance. |
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In other words,it will be more explored as a concept on this idea than it will on off-shoot postings. |
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Yes, sugar and ants are an innovative solution to support removal. I don't remember seeing too many on the beach though. And would they get the job done before the tide comes in? |
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...we're just about to find out, now aren't we? |
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