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3D food printing—An innovative way of mass customization in food fabrication

A secondary material was utilized to support the fa- The agitated mixing can adjust mixing ratios dy-
brication [35] and was removed after fabrication. Figure namically so that the extruded food materials can con-
6 shows two examples of multi-printhead food print- tinuously change color or composition. Millen [15] de-
ing samples fabricated by our group at the National signed two rigs for agitated mixing: oscillating mixing
University of Singapore. The basic materials in this from periodic motion in a linear way, and conical sur-
biscuit recipe consist of flour, butter, sugar and egg face mixing with a large contact area and friction
white. Food dyes are used to color the same recipe for force. The former achieved an acceptable result in two
different layers and patterns. color mixing experiments. With further improvement,
One challenge in multiple material printing is that they can be more appropriate for discontinuous food
multi-material may generate multi-scale ingredients flow mixing.
[2]
after processing. Gray proposed using electrospin-
ning to produce multiple food sub-components at a 4. 3D Food Printing Impacts on Mass Custo-
micro-scale and further assemble them into mul- mization
ti-component composite structures. This is a new so- Food printers introduce artistic capabilities to fine
lution to shape non-traditional food materials under dining and extend mass customization capabilities to
multi-scale into appealing edible structures. the industrial culinary sector. They also provide a re-
search tool to manipulate food structure at multiple
scales. Many players are active in food printing area
such as 3D Systems, Choc Edge, and they are
competing with each other using different technolo-
gies and focuses for potential market opportuni-
ties [2,32–34] . From a research perspective, TNO is a
[2]
leading organization on nutritional customization .
3D Systems is making a great effort to commercialize
the powder bed food printer (Chefjet) and an extrusion
base chocolate printer with Hershey [34] . Even though
these food printing technologies are still under devel-

opment, it is important to understand their core value,
Figure 6. (A) Multi-material food design (B) Fabricated food market applications, and potential impact on people’s
samples lifestyle.
3.3 Mixing Techniques 4.1 Professional Culinary in Daily Life
Even with multiple printheads, it is not possible to With a 3D food printing platform, designs from culi-
develop a platform compatible with all food material nary professionals can be fabricated at any place by
printing. An alternative solution is to combine and mix downloading the original data files. Users can repro-
a small group of ingredients to produce a relatively duce an original work by importing the corresponding
large material matrix. Two types of mixing techniques fabrication files that carry culinary knowledge and
are explored to vary material composition and create artistic skills from chefs, nutrition experts, and food
more combinations of flour-based semi-solid viscoe- designers. After downloading design files, the prod-
lastic materials. They are, namely, the static and agi- ucts can then be built in front of the customers using
tated mixing techniques. their personal 3D food printer. It is a new context of
The static mixing fully relies on the driving force household product making, which would be impossi-
from material feeding and friction force between ma- ble to achieve using the existing methods.
terials and the mixer’s built-in structure. It comes as a 4.2 Customized Food Design
static mixer concept for two-part epoxy adhesive resin
mixing and dispensing. This technique is suitable for a Most of the food manufacturing techniques are devel-
continuous food flow mixing. However, a few tech- oped for mass production, while food creativity and
nical issues need to be overcome like consistency of customization on shapes, structures, and flavors are
food flow inside a helical structure, and the associated usually sacrificed. Food printing provides a platform
cleaning process for food residue within the structure. for consumer experimentation with food forms and

34 International Journal of Bioprinting (2015)–Volume 1, Issue 1