Mr. Amandeep singh of Rajasthan, India once couldn't get an important document laminated because of power cut in his locality and that made his innovative mind to think about this problem. Amandeep, a class X student at that time could think of using the solar energy for running laminator but his thought remained a mere idea until he got an opportunity to realize it when he participated in a district level science fair in class XII. He studied a solar cooker and an electric laminator to come up with the solar laminator.

Features and working of the solar laminator

The solar laminator is quite simple and consists of a wooden box, four rollers, a mirror, a mirror stand, a handle, glass and a couple of two mm thick iron sheets. The glasses are fitted so that it focuses the solar energy on the metallic plates. The machine is based on heating the filament of the laminator using black box concept. 

The solar laminator is as good as the electric laminator in its output. The machine gives a good quality of wrinkle free lamination and does the lamination on both the sides of the sheet in a single pass. The machine takes 15 minutes in laminating an A4 size document.

The machine is useful for the areas where there are frequent power cuts or there is no power available. The machine can also be run using electricity when the sunlight is not available.

Support and recognition for the grassroots innovation

Amandeep has showcased his innovation in various competitions and science fairs at various levels since its first show in his class XII science fair and has been winning awards and accolades for it. He won the first prize in his state and an appreciation award at the national level science fair, "Jawahar Lal Nehru Rashtriya Vigyan Pradarshani".

National Innovation Foundation (NIF) a nonprofit autonomous body under the Department of Science and Technology has recognized and supported Amandeep's solar laminator. It has also awarded the green grassroots innovation in its biennial competition for unaided green grassroots innovations and traditional knowledge. NIF is also helping Amandeep financially in improving his innovation.

About the Author:
Ashish Kumar is a student at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He writes articles on grassroots innovations and other related topics.