3D food printing
3D food printing is the process of manufacturing food products using a variety of additive manufacturing techniques. Most commonly, food grade syringes hold the printing material, which is then deposited through a food grade nozzle layer by layer. The most advanced 3D food printers have pre-loaded recipes on board and also allow the user to remotely design their food on their computers, phones or some IoT device. The food can be customized in shape, color, texture, flavor or nutrition, which makes it very useful in various fields such as space exploration and healthcare.
History
| Year | Company/Group Name | Description |
| 2006 | Cornell University | Fab@Home, a project led by a group of students, was the first multi-material 3D printer to print food materials such as chocolate, cookie dough and cheese. |
| 2006-2009 | Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories | CandyFab was able to print large sugar sculptures by using hot air to selectively melt and fuse sugar grains together. |
| 2012 | Choc Edge | Choc Edge was the first commercially available 3D chocolate printer. |
| 2012-2015 | biozoon GmbH | PERFORMANCE was a project focused on printing easy to chew and easy to swallow food for seniors. |
| 2013 | Modern Meadow | In vitro meat was printed for the first time using a bioprinter. |
| 2014 | 3D Systems & Hershey's | A chocolate printer that prints various shapes, sizes, and geometries using milk, dark and white chocolate was introduced. |
| 2014 | Natural Machines | Foodini, a commercially available printer, was introduced. This printer is able to print a wide range of ingredients and comes with an application that allows users to remotely create designs. |
| 2015 | TNO & Barilla | A pasta printer and an annual competition for the best pasta design are introduced. |
| 2018 | Novameat | The first meat-free steak made from vegetables that mimics meat texture was printed. |
| 2022 | FELIXprinters | FELIXprinter, manufacturer of professional and industrial plastic FDM 3D printers, launches the FELIX FOODprinters range. The single, switch and twin head models are made commercially available. |
| 2023 | Revo Foods | The world's first release of a 3D printed food product in supermarkets is achieved with the launch of "THE FILET - Inspired by Salmon", by Austrian food tech company Revo Foods |
| 2024 | Cocoa Press | The Cocoa Press 2.0 is the latest chocolate 3D printer from Ellie Weinstein and the team at Cocoa Press. Designed for 3D printer hobbyists and chocolatiers alike. |
General principles
There are three general areas that impact precise and accurate food printing: materials/ingredients, process parameters, and post-processing methods.Materials and ingredients
The type of food available to print is limited by the printing technique. For an overview of these printing techniques, please see the section Printing Techniques below:Extrusion-based printing ingredients
Common ingredients used in extrusion-based printing are inherently soft enough to extrude from a syringe/printhead and possess a high enough viscosity to retain a shape. In certain cases, powdered ingredients are added to increase viscosity, e.g. adding flour to water creates a paste that can be printed. Inherently soft materials include:- purée
- jelly
- frosting
- some kinds of cheese
- mashed potatoes
Selective laser sintering and binder jetting ingredients
Powdered ingredients:- sugar
- chocolate powder
- protein powder
Inkjet printing ingredients
- sauces
- colored food ink
Printing techniques
Extrusion-based printing
Although there are different approaches to extrusion based printing, these approaches follow the same basic procedures. The platform on which food is printed consists of a standard 3-axis stage with a computer controlled extrusion head. This extrusion head pushes food materials through a nozzle typically by way of compressed air or squeezing. The nozzles can vary with respect to what type of food is being extruded or the desired printing speed. As the food is printed, the extrusion head moves along the 3-axis stage printing the desired food. Some printed food requires additional processing such as baking or frying before consumption.Extrusion based food printers can be purchased for household use, are typically compact in size, and have a low maintenance cost. Comparatively, extrusion based printing provides the user with more material choices. However, these food materials are usually soft, and as a result, makes printing complex food structures difficult. In addition, long fabrication times and deformations due to temperature fluctuations with additional baking or frying require further research and development to overcome.
Hot-melt and room temperature
In Hot-melt extrusion, the extrusion head heats the food material slightly above the material's melting point. The melted material is then extruded from the head and then solidifies soon thereafter. This allows the material to be easily manipulated into the desired form or model. Foods such as chocolate are used in this technique because of its ability to melt and solidify quickly.Other food materials do not inherently require a heating element in order to be printed. Food materials such as jelly, frosting, puree, and similar food materials with appropriate viscosity can be printed at room temperature without prior melting.
Selective laser sintering
In selective laser sintering, powdered food materials are heated and bonded together forming a solid structure. This process is completed by bonding the powdered material layer by layer with a laser as the heat source. After a layer is completed with the desired areas bonded, it is then covered by a new unbonded layer of powder. Certain parts of this new unbonded layer are heated by the laser in order to bond it with the structure. This process continues in a vertical upwards manner until the desired food model is constructed. After construction, unbonded material can then be recycled and used to print another food model.Selective laser sintering enables the construction of complex shapes and models and the ability to create different food textures. It is limited by the range of suitable food materials, namely powdered ingredients. Due to this limitation, selective laser sintering has been used primarily for creating sweets/candies.
Binder jetting
Similarly to selective laser sintering, binder jetting uses powdered food materials to create a model layer by layer. Instead of using heat to bond the materials together, a liquid binder is used. After bonding the desired areas of a layer, a new layer of powder is then spread over the bonded layer covering it. Certain parts of this new layer are then bonded to the previous layer. The process is repeated until the desired food model is constructed.As with selective laser sintering, binder jetting enables the construction of complex shapes and models and the ability to create different food textures. Likewise, it is also limited by the range of suitable food materials, namely powdered ingredients.
Inkjet printing
Inkjet printing is used for surface filling or image decoration. By utilizing gravity, edible food ink is dropped onto the surface of the food, typically a cookie, cake, or other candy. This is a non-contact method, hence the printhead does not touch the food protecting the food from contamination during image filling. The ink droplets may consist of a broad range of colors allowing users to create unique and individualized food images. An issue with inkjet printing is the food materials being incompatible with the ink resulting in no image or high image distortion. Inkjet printers can be purchased for household or commercial use, and industrial printers are suitable for mass production.Multi-printhead and multi-material
In multi-printhead and multi-material printing, multiple ingredients are printed at the same time or in succession. There are different ways to support multi-material printing. In one instance, multiple printheads are used to print multiple materials/ingredients, as this can speed up production, efficiency, and lead to interesting design patterns. In another instance, there is one printhead, and when a different ingredient is required, the printer exchanges the material being printed. Multiple materials/ingredients equates to a more diverse range of meals available to print, a broader nutritional range, and is quite common for food printers.Post-processing
In the post-processing phase, printed food may require additional steps before consumption. This includes processing activities such as baking, frying, cleaning, etc. This phase can be one of the most critical to 3D printed food, as the printed food needs to be safe for consumption. An additional concern in post processing is the deformation of the printed food due to the strain of these additional processes. Current methods involve trial and error. That is, combining food additives with the materials/ingredients to improve the integrity of complex structures and to ensure the printed structure retains its shape. Additives such as transglutaminase and hydrocolloids have been added to ingredients in order to help retain the printed shape while printing and after cooking.Additionally, recent research has produced a for baking breads, cookies, pancakes and similar materials that consist of dough or batter. By adjusting certain parameters in the simulation, it shows the realistic effect that baking will have on the food. With further research and development, a visual simulation of 3D printed foods being cooked could predict what is vulnerable to deformation.