YouTuber and DIY mega-enthusiast Ivan Miranda puts together 3D printed machines all the time, but his latest project, the Sand Drawing Robot is probably one of his biggest and best endeavors. Working just the way a 2D printer would, Miranda’s robot comprises of a massive rail on which his line-making module rests and moves up and down. The rail itself moves too, covering both X and Y axes. Art is made by the line-making module as a flipper moves down, digging into the sand, creating line after line, column after column. Viewed from a height, you can read pieces of text as lines come together to make thick letters. It’s a time-consuming process, but overall fun to watch as the machine creates remarkably accurate lines, and consequently characters, and then words, by simply digging miniature trenches into the sand. The end result is simply perfect to look at, while also being extremely visible from up above, thanks to the multiple lines that come together to form a bold piece of text.
So, if you ever find yourself stranded on a desert island waiting for help and all you have with you is a stick and loads of sand, do what Ivan Miranda’s Sand Drawing Robot does. Ditch the scrawny line-based ‘help’ written in the sand for something that’s more meticulous, but much more legible.
Designer: Ivan Miranda
