A novel way of food customization

APPLICATION

WHY YOUR COMPANY SHOULD ALSO FOCUS ON HYBRID MANUFACTURING?

ROLE OF HYBRID MANUFACTURING IN 3D PRINTING

Why should additive manufacturing be introduced in companies in a connected industry setting? The
answer is simple: because the following can be achieved:

(i) Creative product design

(ii) More customised products with high quality and performance

(iii) DDM (demand driven manufacturing) with less waste generated and efficient use of energy

(iv) Internet (EICTs in general) as a tool with a high potential to support new supply chain models

(v) The consumer as designer and “customiser”

(vi) Additive manufacturing as enabling technology

Fast growth – and big expectations

Customer expectations

There's a growing trend across manufacturing to develop customised products to match customer
needs more closely.

Saving money with decentralised, on-demand production

By removing the need to produce and store large volumes of parts, 3D printing reduces costs,
accelerates workflows, and changes the relationship between supply and demand.

Making complex designs simple to produce

Traditionally, more design complexity means higher production costs – but with additive
manufacturing that's no longer the case. 3D printing makes it easier, cheaper and faster to produce
highly complex designs, enabling product designers and engineers to bring more innovative ideas to
life.

digital route to market

Reaching new customers

Development of new added value ingredients and mixes

Customization/ Co-creation

 Nutrition

 Flavor/color

 Texture

 On-demand and on-the-go production

 Economy at low volume production

 Flexibility

 New product design

 Novel mouthfeel experience

 Multi-layer printing of various textures

Normal chocolate bars are made by pouring melted chocolate into molds and
letting them cool into a solid. This really limits the kinds of shapes you can
achieve, since creating the chocolate mold is no easy task. With a chocolate
3D printer, however, you can print some pretty crazy chocolate shapes, which
would not be possible with a traditional mold.
Path III, product evolution: Companies take advantage of the scope
economics offered by AM technologies to achieve new levels of performance
or innovation in the products they offer.

Challenges and barriers to overcome

Whether in households, grocery stores, vending machines, or in space,
adopting AM for designing and manufacturing food faces specific
challenges. Leaders seeking to deploy these technologies in food service
may be well advised to consider them as they make plans to advance their
AM strategies. In particular, interested managers should consider
constraints related to regulation, food safety, and availability of ingredients.

Regulation

Food production takes place in many different contexts: Venues as diverse

as restaurants, vending machines, and grocery stores may one day host 3D
printers. It is, therefore, important to consider how regulatory agencies
such as the US Food and Drug Administration categorize these venues, and
what impact their regulations will have on production.
For example, the FDA currently differentiates between locations that
“produce” food and those that merely sell packaged food. Once a package
seller begins interacting with raw, non-packaged food, it may expect to face
a new regulatory regime. Organizations that choose to make this transition
will need to consider issues such as cleaning parameters, training of in-
store personnel, and regular inspection.42 With no regulations currently in
place for AM food, the FDA will no doubt be establishing—in collaboration
with companies and other governmental entities—guidelines for specific
foods, facility inspections, and personnel training. Restaurants, with well-
defined regulations and a need for consistent outputs, will take a particular
interest in AM guidelines.

Food safety/shelf life

Another consideration for 3D-printed food and, in particular, extruded

foods has to do with temperature fluctuations during the extrusion process.
Traditionally, when material is extruded, it must be heated to create a
substance sufficiently malleable to pass through the extrusion nozzle. This
heating and cooling process may represent a health concern for food.
Heating and/or cooking may make food susceptible to microbial growth,
bacteria, or fungus, therefore decreasing its effective shelf life. For
extruding food, companies will need to adhere to FDA guidelines regarding
appropriate food temperatures and approved shelf life. 43

The prototypes of 3D food printers require careful calibration of multiple

parameters, each dependent on the particular batch of food. Different
ingredients carry different shelf lives, and packaging may be a factor.
Alternatively, we recognize that one key advantage of edible printing,
whether at-home or in-store, is the ability to fashion food items only hours
—or less—before sale or consumption, so shelf life may matter much less
than for traditionally and centrally manufactured items.
Ingredient limitations

Not every type of food can be printed. Unlike other AM applications that
extrude only a single material, printing of food often requires multiple
ingredients, ranging from processed components such as cheese, sauce, or
dough to more elemental ingredients such as sugars, proteins, and
carbohydrates. Due to varying storage and temperature requirements and
chemical compositions, it may be impractical to place these ingredients all
in one container. A potential workaround is for the user to manually
prepare ingredients at the time of use. Unmanned systems such as vending
machines would require increased levels of automation and regular
cleaning, but perhaps not much more than the coin-operated coffee
dispensers that companies introduced back in the 1940s.

The variety and quality of ingredients are unavoidably and (for some)
disappointingly limited, since creating an organic product, such as a whole
carrot or a filet mignon, from scratch is still very much science fiction. For
now, to approximate meat, a printer would likely construct a consumable
protein by mixing a protein powder with water and then shaping the
resulting paste into a form that attempts to mimic its natural counterpart.
Both home and retail AM users are expected to continue looking for further
development with respect to variety in ingredients, among other areas in
edible printing.44

The main problem with chocolate 3D printers is the temperature. The process can
be time-consuming and this is due to temperature complications. The chocolate has
to be heated enough to melt and at the same time it must be cool and dry enough to
maintain its shape.
Benefits: To
print complex models, reduce the printing speed so the chocolate has
more time to dry and harden and the next layer can be built.
The temperature, time, and process are the three main issues that must be solved in
order to make the production more efficient.
Creative food design[edit]

Chef storytelling: Alvar Aalto Vase

Food presentation and food appearance customization for individuals is a big trend in the food
industry. So far food customization and creative designs have required hand-made skills, which
results in low production rate and high cost. 3D food printing can overcome this problem by
providing the necessary tools for creative food design even for home users. [11] 3D food printing
has enabled some intricate designs which cannot be accomplished with traditional food
manufacturing. Brand logos, text, signatures, pictures can now be printed on some food products
like pastries and coffee. Complex geometric shapes have also been printed, mainly using sugar.
With 3D printing, chefs can now turn their visual inspirations into signature culinary creations.
Another benefit is being able to print nutritious meals in shapes that appeal to children. [1]

increasing demand for customized food products with nutrient content

tailored for individual dietary needs.
Challenges in 3D printing of food

Material science:

 Shape stability  Additive and recipe control (need for: thickeners,

enzymes, crosslinking agents with shape memory)

 Replicate traditional foods  Compatible printing material with

traditional cooking, i.e. baking, frying

 Rheology of food materials vary by time  Stable print materials

needed

Manufacturing technology:

 Safety  Easy to clean surfaces, cartridges

 Throughput  High throughput or large reservoir needed for vast

printing

 Speed  Either fast or cheap enough to operate thousands (applies

particularly for food industry)