In the Winter Olympics-themed flower beds along Chang'an Avenue, beautiful 3D snowflakes are not only full of science and technology, but also contain the deep meaning of "zero carbon": urban solid waste such as originally inconspicuous construction waste is transformed into snowflakes through 3D printing.
In the northwest corner of Xidan Road, the "Open Winter Olympics" theme flower beds are full of tourists. It is a large flower bed with a ceiling height of 9.1 meters, and the main scenery is the emblem of the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The blue and white "snowflakes" scattered on the ground are particularly eye-catching.
The "snowflakes" carry modern technology and the concept of zero carbon environmental protection.
"The raw material of these 'snowflakes' is urban solid waste, which is produced through 3D printing technology after multiple complex processes." Jia Changchun, the producer of the snowflake sculpture and chairman of China Carbon Springfield (Beijing) Energy Technology Co., Ltd., said.
Urban solid waste mainly includes construction waste, general industrial solid waste, mine waste, etc., with a wide range of types and complex compositions, which is one of the main sources of environmental pollution at present. Transporting and landfilling in the traditional way consumes a lot of energy and land resources.
In order to help the "zero carbon" Winter Olympics, Sino-carbon Springfield developed and produced garden sketches, turning useless garbage into light and beautiful "snowflakes". The 3D printing solid waste technology used has the advantages of provincial template, material, labor and garbage transportation.
The task of turning urban solid waste into 3D printing art products is unprecedented, and there is no precedent to follow in research and development. Coupled with the tight time and heavy tasks, winter production is particularly difficult, and the design and production personnel have overcome one difficulty after another.
The production process is more cumbersome. First, the solid waste components are analyzed, harmful substances are removed, the parts that can be used are screened out and crushed into powders, and then matched with the items to be 3D printed according to their characteristics. For example, this garden sketch "Snowflake" is more suitable for making construction waste such as rubble bricks. After matching, the adhesive is added to the solid waste powder and "fed" to the robot.
In order to simulate the uneven graininess of the snowflake surface, the design modeling alone has been modified and tested many times. The largest snowflake is 1.7 meters in diameter, and in the design, printing, thickness, width, imitation and robustness should be considered, and the 3D printed product can carry hidden pipelines and stiffeners.
The producer has set up a special team in all aspects of design, printing, assembly and transportation, and the responsibility is up to the person. "Taking transportation as an example, 'snowflakes' are not assembled products, but are transported to Beijing as a whole like a piece of cake." Jia Changchun introduced that it is large and thin, and it must always be careful in the transportation of thousands of kilometers.
It is reported that after the display of flower beds along Chang'an Avenue, the "snowflakes" will be recycled and recycled.