regolith pillar
a mixture of sand & resin to simulate extraterrestrial soil
How will we build on the surface of other planets?
Regolith pillar was created by 3D printing a lightweight mold using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) filament, and filling it with a mixture of sand & resin. The PVA, being water soluble, was melted away after being placed in a basin of water for 76 hours. After melting it away, one can see the beauty and innate strength of the sand once it has solidified.
This method of fabrication allows for extremely quick construction times and the utilization of a small amount of printing material, which is one of the limiting factors of building on other planets.
For context, an object that is 50cm x 20cm x 20cm can be printed in 30 minutes on a common 3D printer. With industrial tools, the results would be equally impressive at scale.
Instead of a resin + regolith mixture, any sort of particulate cement mixture would also work with this method. Once dry, the outside casing no longer serves a purpose so doesn’t need to hold any structural properties (though it might be useful if it provided UV shielding).
This piece was performed as part of a structural test for a larger piece under development.