The 3D printing of food (‘food printing’) is a development that we closely monitor at Flam3D. In fact, we are actively committed to it. Our working group ‘Foodprinting’, which consists of a dozen different partners, is actively exploring the possibilities of 3D printing in the food sector.
3D printing of metals and polymers has undergone a steep evolution in recent years, but 3D food printing is a domain that is significantly less well developed. Nevertheless, it potentially offers a large number of revolutionary advantages that have only just been explored. The technique is extremely suitable for personalising our foodstuffs, both in terms of freedom of form and in terms of the formulation of the 3D printed food.
3D food printers can potentially improve the nutritional value of meals, provide a solution for people with swallowing or chewing problems, create additional opportunities for chefs and gastronomic professionals, or even be used as an auxiliary aid in areas that do not have access to fresh, affordable ingredients.
After an exploratory phase (see roadmap below) we are now working on the development of two concrete projects. First of all, we want to develop the next generation of food printers; the specifications and expectations are being defined. For this we are looking for the machine builder with a vision, preferably with experience in food, who can translate the concepts into a real machine. In a second project we want to look at the further development of suitable ingredients and formulations for the printer in development.
The ultimate goal is to create a new generation of food printing that is sufficiently competitive in terms of speed and cost for certain applications to be able to build real, new business models.
