A new and inexpensive 3D food printer has been launched and it could be yours.
The RoVa-Paste 3D Food Printer appears on Kickstarter, where the company, ORD Solutions of Ontario, Canada, hope to raise USD$25,000 to get their production line going.
The company has previously built “normal” 3D printers capable of printing plastic, but the RoVa-Paste is designed for food extrusion. It is based, however, on their RoVa3D platform and comes fully assembled for only CAD$899 (USD$816).
The RoVa-Paste includes a single syringe-based extruder capable of precision placement of almost any squishy substance, including foods. While the machine uses typical 3D printer mechanicals, there are a number of features specifically for food processing:
- An “oven ready” build sheet is magnetically attached and can be removed for “oven processing” after prints complete. It even has an oven mitt-sized handle!
- Extruder/Nozzle/Tubing sets are easy to clean and replace, suggesting you can have an arsenal of pre-loaded foods ready to quickly swap into the machine
- A “high-torque” paste extruder pushes the squishy material to the syringe, removing the requirement for external air pressure services
- Tons of stainless steel ensure the machine will be easily cleanable when you inevitably spill chocolate paste
This offering seems like a reasonable deal to us; it is simple, based on known mechanicals and is at a decent price, particularly during the campaign launch.
One aspect not specifically addressed by the company, however, is software. Our experience with food printing tells us that the “engineering” of printed food is somewhat different from standard plastic builds. Thus you must learn by trial and error the best ways to design your food prints. That’s quite ok if you happen to be a kitchen-tech-geek.
We’re sure you are.
Via Kickstarter
