In 3D food printing technology, the most common ingredients that can be directly printed are generally variable temperature ingredients, including chocolate, cheese, syrup and so on. Most other printable components need to be ground, screened, dispersed and emulsified before printing to achieve certain rheological properties.

3D printer is a machine of rapid prototyping technology, which is based on digital model files and uses adhesive materials such as powder metal or plastic to print objects layer by layer. It used to be used in mold manufacturing, industrial design and other fields to make models, but now it is gradually used in the direct manufacturing of some products, which shows that this technology is spreading.

3D food printer technology

1, extrusion-based printing

Although there are different printing methods based on extrusion, these methods follow the same basic process. The platform for printing food includes a standard three-axis workbench with a computer-controlled extrusion head. The extrusion head usually pushes food raw materials through the nozzle by compressed air or extrusion. The nozzle can vary according to the type of food to be extruded or the required printing speed (generally speaking, the smaller the nozzle, the longer it takes to print the food). When printing food, the extrusion head moves along the 3-axis workbench to print the required food.

2, hot melt and room temperature

In hot melt extrusion, the extrusion head heats food materials to a temperature slightly higher than the melting point of the materials. The molten material is then extruded from the head and then solidified quickly. In this way, the material can be easily processed into the required shape or model. This technology uses foods such as chocolate because it has the ability to melt and solidify quickly.

3. Selective laser sintering

In selective laser sintering, powdered food raw materials are heated and bonded together to form a solid structure. This process is completed by combining powder materials layer by layer with laser as heat source.