The filament used for 3D printing is useful, but not terribly interesting. Others have taken to printing using other substances, some for notable purposes, others more or less for novelty.
After mastering the art of generating meatless hamburgers and pizza with all the fixings, 3D printing has moved on to dessert, thanks to the work of three MIT students who invented a machine that can create star-shaped ice cream.
A trio of students from MIT has developed a 3D-printer that can produce ice creams in any shape in just 15 minutes.
By hacking together a soft serve ice cream maker, a freezer and a 3D printer, Kyle Hounsell, Kristine Bunker, and David Donghyun Kim created a machine that extrudes soft ice cream into any given shape then quickly freezes it with a blast of liquid nitrogen.
The students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) developed the contraption using the principals of a fused deposition model printer.
The cooling system:
The students built a cooling system using liquid nitrogen to fix the ice cream in place as it was squirted out of the 3D printer’s nozzle into the desired shape. The instant cooling allowed the printer to build up the ice cream layers just as a traditional extrusion-based 3D printer squirts down layers of plastic.
“First, we needed to print into a cooled environment so that the ice cream would hold its shape once printed,” the
students explained to 3D printing site 3ders.org. “We bought a small upright freezer which was large enough to both put the Solidoodle inside and allow for the full build volume we were aiming for.”
The setup also includes a temperature control system which keeps the extrusion nozzle (where the ice cream is pumped out) at 18°F (-7C) as soft serve ice cream begins to melt completely at just two degrees warmer than this.
Although the print area is only roughly the size of someone’s hand, the students say this was necessary to keep the print time low.
“We felt that waiting more than 10-15 minutes for an ice cream to be printed would cause the consumer to lose interest,” they explained. “Additionally, this was a short enough time for the ice cream to keep its shape in the freezer would excessive liquid nitrogen being poured onto it.”
“The main reason we feel an ice cream 3D printer is an important addition to current additive manufacturing technology is that it interests children,” the MIT students explained.
The students had to balance the accuracy and printing resolution of the printer to enable interesting shapes and creations with the speed of printing, as no one wants to wait 30 minutes for their ice cream to appear.
“We imagine this technology being marketable in ice cream parlours such as Dairy Queen where customers can order an ice cream treat, wait 15 minutes, and see the shape they chose be created,” they said. “Of course last, and more importantly, we aim to enjoy the ice cream after successful printing.”
The proof-of-concept printer needs refinement before it is likely to see commercial duty, but the technology could appear in an ice cream truck near you soon, if the students or a third party decides to continue developing the system further.
Still, the innovation is yet to be commercialized. The students say that they will need to modify the machine to bring it to the market. Till then, think about your favorite ice cream shape!
3D Ice Cream Printer, Invented by the MIT Students
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