At SolarMill in Richmond, Virginia, a team of quirky green-minded designers, engineers and programmers developed a machine that concentrates and focuses sunlight with enough precision to melt a crucible of metal.
The machine works by using a fresnel lens scavenged from an old rear-projection television. The lens acts like a giant magnifying glass, but instead of melting ants and burning leaves, it is powerful enough to melt metal.
The lens position is controlled by an Arduino running advanced algorithms that track and focus the sun. An IR temperature sensor allows the machine to have its own thermostat so that we can set a temperature, and the machine will focus and defocus the lens to bring the target up to temp and maintain that temperature.
The inaugural product for this process is a necklace, created finished and polished with 0% fossil fuel energy, and 100% solar energy.
SolarMill is pledged to facilitate the transition to a sustainable economy. It does this by developing solar manufacturing solutions, and products. SolarMill's Richmond location runs a whole family of machines 100% off-grid using a rooftop solar array, and a modest golf cart battery bank.
We hope that one day consumers will be able to outfit themselves and their homes with a wide collection of fossil-fuel-free products. There is less buyer's remorse when you're battling carbon emissions!
More info: solarmill.com
