Get Your Own Evil CandyFab?

 

Quite a while ago Fabbaloo reported on the CandyFab 4000, an ingenious prototype 3D printer that used common sugar as the build media. The device uses the familiar X-Y-Z inkjet-style motion, but instead of depositing the media it simply heats a successive layers of powdered sugar to its melting point and fuses it into a solid shape.

But the really interesting part is that the calorie-laden printed objects are in fact edible! One can only imagine the amazing items emerging from gourmet dessert kitchens once these things are widely available. 3D software training for chefs? Would Gordon Ramsay scream at the printer?

But then:

Evil Mad Science plans to announce the availability of CandyFab kits sometime in the summer or fall of 2009.

And a comment on the Thingverse by Evil Mad Scientist Windell Oskay says:

Yes, there will be kits.

Won’t quite be as inexpensive as the Cupcake CNC. It’s a more complex machine, supporting a deep, heavy bed of material and a build volume ten times as large. Still, we’ll do what we can. :)

The CandyFab 6000 is still being developed, but here are the highlights:

• New mechanical parts, and no requirement to re-use old printer components
• Upgraded sofware: the cross-platform CandyFabulous
  
• Build volume of 10 Liters
• Layer thickness of 0.067 inches
• One Arduino board per axis
• Food-safe sugar containment
• Laser-cut casing
• Highly expandable

These are just the preliminary specifications, as "There's plenty of room for improvement, and finally we have a machine that can be improved."

As the Evil Mad Scientist says, "it's looking sweet."

Via Evil Mad Scientist, CandyFab wiki and Thingiverse (hat tip to Thomas Amberg, once again!)

Evil CandyFab 4000

The CandyFab 4000 is definitely not a commercial product and is most appropriate for those of you already handy with tools. The CandyFab can be constructed for around $500 in readily available parts, and can use output from common 3D modeling software.

The device is designed primarily for fun - it doesn't have a very good resolution but can print candy! Among the several powdered media it can use is sugar. CandyFab prints objects simply by melting powdered sugar in place, layer by layer. The key features of CandyFab are:

• Low cost for required parts
• Very low cost for media (sugar)
• Non toxic media (sugar)
• Large-sized build envelope
• Open source design

CandyFab is certainly not designed to make high-quality objects, as its resolution is still fairly low (0.2" - 0.06") and the surfaces produced are not exactly smooth.

Even though printed objects are made of sugar, they are not necessarily edible. However, the CandyFab has been modified to print edible objects by ensuring all relevant parts are non-toxic. Future attempts may involve chocolate or other tasty media!

Via Evil Mad Scientist and CandyFab