Unlike my previous “BLOG EXPERT POST #2” which focused on current uses of 3D printing technology in food (regarding confectionery applications) this entry highlights not only a new manufacturing process for 3D printing, which resembles the Henry Ford model of assembly line manufacturing and thus allotting for a more economic and efficient process, but the innovations that can be brought to food both from a nutritional and “fun” aspect and how it all ties into making some types of food a viable 3D printed product.

TNO (Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research) is a nonprofit company in the Netherlands that focuses on applied science.  According to their website (http://www.3ders.org/articles/20131230-tno-italian-pasta-maker-barilla-working-on-3d-pasta-printers.html)  they were the first in the world to show that 3D printing can be done in a continuous production process, much like the assembly line model first employed by Henry Ford, instead of the traditional and customary process of batch production.  This particular manufacturing technique is said to lead to new types of production systems for the manufacturing of complex and multi-material products ranging from electronics to food.  Regarding my primary focus on food, this is a huge innovation because food in itself is complex and depending on the type does not lend itself to be produced in a batch manner and still remain economical and efficient given current technology especially when considering a mass market.  Listed below is a video of this manufacturing technique:

Now, as this process applies to food, one must consider that food in itself is a very complex thing in general.  Different textures, ingredients, formulas, and such all must be carefully considered during the production process of a wide variety of foods and in this particular case pasta.  TNO is currently working with Barilla, an Italy-based top pasta manufacturer, to produce a 3D printer that is capable of printing 15-20 pieces of pasta every two minutes.  Kjeld van Bommel, the project leader at TNO, has said that the two entities have been working on the project for more than two years and that several experimental 3D food printers have already been installed in various restaurants in the Netherlands with hopes that the technology would expand internationally by 2014.  The technology during two years of research has rapidly evolved as stated by van Bommel; “The print speed now is ten times faster than when we started two years ago.”  This endeavour, on a basic front, is to ultimately provide restaurant guests with a custom made pasta for restaurant patrons during special occasions such as an anniversary in which the pasta can be made into the shape of a rose for instance.  Consequently, it would also allow the ability to have an individual patron save a design and bring it to a restaurant employing the technology and have the design created on-site. (http://www.3ders.org/articles/20131230-tno-italian-pasta-maker-barilla-working-on-3d-pasta-printers.html)

However, TNO’s vision is much broader and they hope to one day reach the point where the technology can be used to manufacture 3D printed foods that are made of healthier ingredients and have exact macro nutrient contents that would address the nutritional needs for a wide variety of people such as senior’s whom would need more protein and calcium in their diet to ensure optimal health.  Also, the employment of alternative ingredients such as algae can be too integrated into foods to enrich an individuals’ diet and make it more well-rounded overall.  This brings more truth to the notion that food can be both fun and good!

As the semester progresses and my knowledge of 3D printing grows, understanding the current limitations and realistic possibilities in the near future become integral components to realizing where 3D printed food will first find its stride.  Having visited NRI on 4/9/14, a 3D printing fabrication service in midtown Manhattan, finally provided a clearer picture of what is possible with the technology currently, its applications, some basic information concerning costs, and the mechanics of the 3D printers themselves.  Originally I had thought that 3D printing seemingly materialized an object a-la sci-fi tech, but in reality the printing process is rather lengthy, employs modified “inkjet” cartridges, and most commonly relies on a layer by layer building process.  This particular blog post highlights a more typical “current” use in regards to 3D food.

The Sugar Lab, a confectionery 3D printing start-up (recently acquired by 3D Systems; a provider of consumer and industrial 3D printing and manufacturing solutions) located in LA, California gave a Tedx Talk in January of 2014 highlighting some ways that the technology can change the “sugar design” front aka the confectionery business.  The main point stressed is what can one do with 3D printing that hasn’t been done before; a point too stressed during the visit to NRI by Arthur Young-Spivey, a digital fabrication specialist from NRI.  This is a perspective that I had never really focused on, especially before the point was stressed by experts, as my original thought was that replicating current products at a more effective and efficient cost and time consideration was the primary problem the technology would address.  Kyle von Hasseln, one of the founders of Sugar Lab mentions that the inspiration for the company came from originally wanting to bake a cake without an oven for a friend’s Birthday.  On the realistic front what became of this vision was the creation of a 3D printed cupcake topper that spelled the friend’s name in cursive.  Here, at its core the idea is simple and relies on simply adding water to sugar because of the solidification process that occurs.

Liz von Hasseln, the other founder of Sugar Lab provides an overview of the actual process by showing that the process begins with a digital 3D model of the object and is run through software that slices the object into layers.  Next, the printer utilizes a modified inkjet print head that paints the layers of the object with water onto sugar with the process continuing until the object has been fully materialized.  Liz then mentions that the end-product does something different that what traditional creations have allowed for typically; “…now the frosting can be structural, it can be sculputural, it can be gemoetric and mathematically precise, it can be intricatly preforated, or it can just look like a duck.  This frosting can basically look like anything you can think of… and that’s been the most exciting part for us expanding what’s possible pushing the technology of 3D printing into a completely new genre and looking for what it can do there that couldn’t be done before.”  The talk concludes with a truly powerful line that genuinely opened my mind more to this view; “…what’s important to us about the sugar parts we’ve shown you today isn’t because they’re beautiful, but that they were recently impossible.”

(All pictures courtesy of http://www.the-sugar-lab.com/gallery)

Applying the recent lessons learned from the class throughout the current semester and the visit to NRI has shifted my main focus on this entry to in the “blog expert post” from ideas that are “pipe dreams” and “wishful pursuits” to actual current real-world applications of the technology.  Sure, the whole order whatever, whenever, and anywhere food aspect is still amazing, but it is nice to see what current feasible uses of the tech in the food world are too.