World's First Solar Powered Sterling Engine is 3D Printed

Andreas Haeuser, a German aeronautical engineer, has introduced a new creation -- similar to his RepRap Windturbine, his new design utilizes green energy to create power. Haeuser's 3D printed solar powered Stirling engine takes the traditional heat-powered Stirling engine design and makes it both greener and 3D printable. Aside from some small parts (screws, nuts, and bearings), the entire piece is made of 3D printable components, and Haeuser has made the design, complete with manual, available on his website. While this particular design is quite small-scale, it could ultimately be scaled up to make a more useful, powerful engine. Check out more details, including video of the engine in use, in the full article: http://3dprint.com/54456/solar-powered-stirling-engine/


Below is a photo of the solar powered 3D printed Stirling engine:
http://3dprint.com/wp-content/upload...rstirling2.jpg

The stirling engine is neat but not terribly useful except maybe as a teaching demonstrator. The same guy did a printed wind turbine though that has me very interested. Supposedly it has an maximum output of 55watts at approximately 30mph windspeed (20watts at a more sustainable 12mph). For 12 bucks im very tempted to buy the plans and build one though im curious what if any additional electronics are needed to convert the generated power to something usable. He claims a 12v battery can be charged from the turbine but doesn't mention on the site exactly how this is accomplished. Given the 3 phase output I'm guessing an automotive regulator/rectifier would do the job. In the end this wouldn't be enough to power a home but i'm planning to build a playhouse/shed for my kids out in the yard which won't be connected to the house so it won't have power. Something like this could let me keep a deep cycle battery topped up to run 12v lights and some other small things for them though.