Disappointingly, my PLA plastic has yet to arrive. I'm wondering if it's been misdirected in shipping. I'll need to look into it.
While waiting I had an idea: sugar. There's precedent for 3D printing sugar objects, though my idea is a bit different.
Move the focal point of a mirror over a bed of sugar. A point heat source can caramelize sugar; think of the way a butane torch scorches a creme brule. Sucrose caramelizes at 160°C. Having browned a 2D pattern, add a thin layer of sugar on top of the bed and repeat. The layers should be thin enough that each layer fuses to the one before. When all necessary layers are complete, the printed object can be lifted out of the bed of sugar, extra sugar being shaken off. Might work. One challenge: sugar darkens as it caramelizes, and a darker surface absorbs light better. The rate the sugar is being heated would go up just when heat is no longer required.
Maybe I'm just feeling a bit bitter.
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