ACEIZE

In a DIY project similar to the Fab@Home people, the Maker Faire will feature this 3D fabrication device. The device works similar to other 3D printing & prototype machines in that a solid object is built from a computer model by creating the model layer by layer out of a cheap substrate. The difference between this machine and others is that this machine uses what the makers call SHASAM, or selective hot air sintering and melting, to melt layers of sugar into an object. A hot air jet melts sections of a bed of sugar to form the various layers of a 3D object. With each successive layer, additional sugar is added to the bed and a new layer is melted into the sugar - thereby building the object. SHASAM might sound a little like magic - but this is better than the magic of cotton candy at the faire. Other DIY 3D modeling machines generally build an object by extruding some sort of polymer in layers. The result of the SHASAM process is both a neat idea and very fancy candy.