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The panels are shaped like inverted pyramids (photo credits: Stanford)<\/p><\/div>\n
The Way The Device Works<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\nConventional solar panels only work best under the right circumstances. The sunlight, which, as you know, is this technology\u2019s source\u00a0of energy, has to be set in the exact direction where the light can hit the panel\u2019s flat surface directly. Because the direction of the light changes during the day, many solar arrays actively rotate towards the sun in order to catch as much light as possible. With the newly introduced device, however, this\u00a0lengthy and circumstantial procedure may soon be redundant. The new and innovative panel is able to capture and concentrate sunlight coming from any angle due to its special structure, which is shaped like a tipless inverted pyramid. The material, which is a combination of glass and polymers<\/a>, enables the lens to concentrate the solar power from different angles in one spot, similar to when you burn grass with a magnifying glass. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/LB-3.gif\")
<\/a><\/div>\nNina Vaidya explains,<\/span> \u201cWe wanted to create something that takes in light and concentrates it at the same position, even as the source changes direction. We don\u2019t want to have to keep moving our detector or solar cell or moving the system to face the source. It\u2019s a completely passive system \u2013 it doesn\u2019t need energy to track the source or have any moving parts. Without optical focus that moves positions or need for tracking systems, concentrating light becomes much simpler.<\/span><\/i>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/08\/AGILE-B.jpg\")
Nina Vaidya at work (photo credits: Nina Vaidya)<\/p><\/div>\n
Not much is known about the exact 3D printing<\/a> technology that is used to create the panels. The way the panels are manufactured, however, is by layering together different glasses and polymers that bend light to different degrees, that ultimately focus the light in one exact spot. After a long phase of trial and error and the production of many different prototypes, Nina Vaidya is now confident that her design will soon be successfully used in the solar industry and other areas. She concludes, <\/span>\u201cTo be able to use these new materials, these new fabrication techniques, and this new AGILE concept to create better solar concentrators has been very rewarding. Abundant and affordable clean energy is a vital part of addressing the urgent climate and sustainability challenges, and we need to catalyze engineering solutions to make that a reality.\u201d <\/span><\/i>You can read more about it on Stanford University\u2019s website HERE<\/a>. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhat do you think of the 3D-printed solar panels? Let us know in a comment below or on our\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0and\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0pages! Don\u2019t forget to sign up for our free weekly\u00a0Newsletter here<\/a>, the latest 3D printing news straight to your inbox! You can also find all our videos on our\u00a0YouTube<\/a>\u00a0channel.<\/span><\/p>\n*Cover Photo Credits: Standford University<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/a><\/div>\nNina Vaidya explains,<\/span> \u201cWe wanted to create something that takes in light and concentrates it at the same position, even as the source changes direction. We don\u2019t want to have to keep moving our detector or solar cell or moving the system to face the source. It\u2019s a completely passive system \u2013 it doesn\u2019t need energy to track the source or have any moving parts. Without optical focus that moves positions or need for tracking systems, concentrating light becomes much simpler.<\/span><\/i>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Nina Vaidya at work (photo credits: Nina Vaidya)<\/p><\/div>\n Not much is known about the exact 3D printing<\/a> technology that is used to create the panels. The way the panels are manufactured, however, is by layering together different glasses and polymers that bend light to different degrees, that ultimately focus the light in one exact spot. After a long phase of trial and error and the production of many different prototypes, Nina Vaidya is now confident that her design will soon be successfully used in the solar industry and other areas. She concludes, <\/span>\u201cTo be able to use these new materials, these new fabrication techniques, and this new AGILE concept to create better solar concentrators has been very rewarding. Abundant and affordable clean energy is a vital part of addressing the urgent climate and sustainability challenges, and we need to catalyze engineering solutions to make that a reality.\u201d <\/span><\/i>You can read more about it on Stanford University\u2019s website HERE<\/a>. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What do you think of the 3D-printed solar panels? Let us know in a comment below or on our\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0and\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0pages! Don\u2019t forget to sign up for our free weekly\u00a0Newsletter here<\/a>, the latest 3D printing news straight to your inbox! You can also find all our videos on our\u00a0YouTube<\/a>\u00a0channel.<\/span><\/p>\n *Cover Photo Credits: Standford University<\/em><\/p>\n
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