A Kickstarter project to develop a unique extruder specifically for 3D printed dough seems to be having trouble raising funds.
The Dough Cannon is a very interesting device that is optimized for handling viscous dough. Such an extruder could be fit on conventional 3D printers to create an effective bread and pastry 3D printer.
It uses a peculiar type of industrial pump, known as a “lobe pump”, which involves two internal rotors that can handle thick pasty substances like dough, pasta or custards.
This project seems to have been less successful than its owners thought it could be. As of this writing, the project has raised only AUD$587 of it’s AUD$85,000 goal, and they’re highly unlikely to hit it in the few hours left to pledge.
This is quite curious, as a great many people express interest in food printing. It may be the interested parties are general consumers, however, and not the DIY folks that could actually use this unusual extruder.
The other factor against this project could be its price. The lowest price for a complete Dough Cannon kit is AUD$300 (USD$214). That could be viewed as a high price for a mere extruder, although the Dough Cannon does include two computer controlled mothers.
Hopefully this interesting design will somehow make its way into a true food printer, eventually. We believe such a device could prove practical, as printing such coarse layers could form 3D dough objects in reasonable print times.
It will just take a bit more hunger from 3D printing enthusiasts.
Via Kickstarter
