This could transform the agricultural industry. On the one hand, this could allow the creation of artificial meat that is formed from layers of manufactured live tissue rather than an animal. One possible application of 3D printing is to print out living tissue. However, there is still much more research that has to be done in order for this to become common practice.”Ī future where you can print out a string of sausages that have little to do with an actual pig is not far off, for example.
“3D printing is something I can see advancing the manufacturing of food in coming years. There’s a huge amount of scope for additive manufacturing right now, as Aurora tells us. Of course, it doesn’t end with chocolate. Just think you could order a chocolate in the shape of a cat for your feline-loving friend, or order two bars of chilli chocolate but alter the amount of chilli in each.
So, could additive manufacturing one day replace human chefs? Well, 3D chocolate printers could pop up on the high street in the not-too-distant future. And once the 3D printing of chocolate – and other food – is ironed out, its applications could be limitless. “Chocolate seemed the most logical material to choose,” she says.įinding out what can go wrong with food printing is an important step towards making sure it goes right. But this was just the sort of thing that interests Aurora, as her aim was to investigate the practical complications in the additive manufacturing of food. Milk chocolate is particularly unstable as it has two fat phases, she notes. There are six crystallisation phases for chocolate and, as Aurora explains, “only one for it to print correctly” (see photo). This is bad news if you intend to put that chocolate through a printer. As every keen baker knows, melting chocolate is an art – do it wrong and you’re left with a lumpy mess. If you’ve ever watched The Great British Bake Off, this will come as no surprise. When it comes to additive manufacturing, her material of choice is chocolate – but it proved to be a pretty tricky ingredient to work with. The science of chocolateĪurora Tjernshaugen is a final year Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering student in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering. Right now, there are three key areas of interest: printing live tissue to create edible meat that hasn’t come from an animal printing palatable snacks made from highly nutritious (but slightly repellent) insects and printing meals tailored to unique dietary requirements. Or, how about a stunning geometric biscuit that’s made primarily from crickets? Maybe that’s actually the last thing you want to pop out of your printer.įood is just the latest area that could be revolutionised by 3D printing – a process known as additive manufacturing. A delicate chocolate spiral perhaps, or a cookie that contains the exact number of calories you personally need to consume at that moment. Remember when a printer was just something that spurted out paper documents and emails and that you occasionally (okay, frequently) shouted at? Chances are this is still the extent of your relationship with your printer – but that could all soon change.įor instance, imagine using a printer to prepare your perfect snack. Departments Research impact and institutes UOM life 21st June 2017