3D Printing Technology
3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a technological process that can bring a digital file into a three-dimensional solid object through adding layers by layers of material until the object is formed (“What is 3D Printing?”). 3D printing consists of a series of additive manufacturing technologies, including “selective laser sintering (SLS), fused deposition modeling (FDM), laser-assisted bioprinting, micro-extrusion, etc” (Derossi et al., 2017). The history of 3D printing technology can be traced back to the 1980s. In 1981, Hideo Kodama published his account of a functional rapid-prototyping system that could build a solid, printed model through building up layers that corresponded with the cross-sectional slices of the model with photopolymers. In 1984, Charles Hull invented stereolithography that allowed designers to create 3D models using digital data, which could then be brought to a tangible object through the rapid-prototyping system, which was the start of 3D-printing technology (Goldberg, 2018).
In the past decade, 3D printing has brought significant impact to many different industry sectors, including engineering, medicine, aerospace, art, education, as well as food manufacturing (Derossi et al., 2017). This research paper will focus on the impact of 3D printing in the food manufacturing sector.
3D Printing in Food Manufacturing
3D printing in food was first introduced by researchers from Cornell University through extrusion-based printing. Now, there are four types of 3D printing techniques widely used in the food manufacturing sector. These 3D printing techniques include extrusion-based printing, SLS, binder jetting, and inkjet printing (Liu et al., 2017).
Types 3D Food Printing Techniques
Extrusion-based printing
The extrusion-based printing technology is usually used in printing hot-melted chocolate, soft dough, mashed potatoes, meat puree, cake frosting, processed cheese, and sugar cookies. This technology can also be used in printing non-traditional materials like algae and insects.
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
SLS technology is usually used in creating complex structures that are made up of sugar or sugar-rich powders. This method can create various attractive complex structures that could not be produced by conventional ways.
Binder Jetting
The method of binder jetting is usually used in constructing edible structures using sugars and starch mixtures. This method allows the production of a wide variety of colorful and tasty edible objects like various kinds of complex sculptural cakes.
Inkjet Printing
The technology of inkjet printing is usually used in surface filling and image decoration by dispensing edible liquid on the food surface to create appealing images. In this way, this technology is best in creating different images with high resolutions on edible structures like a biscuit, cake, and crackers.
Impact of 3D Food Printing
The application of 3D printing in food manufacturing can bring positive impacts on food and consumers through its highly customizable nature. It allows people to obtain personalized and digitalized nutrition, tailored shape and dimension, customized internal structure and taste (Derossi et al., 2017). It can also simplify the supply chain and enlarge the source of available food material by using non-traditional food materials, including insects, high fiber plant-based materials, and by-products from plants and animals (Liu et al., 2017). However, the application of 3D printing in food manufacturing also leads to societal challenges (Deloitte, 2018).
Benefits
Customization & Enlargement of Sources of Food Materials
In terms of the positive impact the 3D food printing, a major positive impact or potential that 3D food printing has is that food can be personalized and digitalized so that the required nutrition and energy is provided accordingly. In addition to this, the enlargement of sources of materials used in the fabrication of food introduces people to the more non-traditionally expected food and a greater variety of options to choose from.
For instance, the US Army has a very strong interest in the application of 3D food printing in military food primarily due to the following facts:
- the technology ensures that the production of meals will not be at a shortage on the battlefield;
- meals can be personalized, digitalized, and customized depending on each soldier’s need for nutrition and energy;
- the technology offers more options to soldier’s food in terms of the materials used in the fabrication of food (Liu et al., 2017).
In addition, NASA also funded Systems and Materials Research Corporation (SMRC) to investigate the possibility of applying 3D printing for manufacturing food that meets food safety, nutritional stability, and acceptability requirements during long space missions (Liu et al., 2017).
Moreover, as many countries are starting to face aging problems, the issues of nursing home residents having chewing and swallowing difficulties are becoming more serious than before. Softer texture of food will be easier to swallow (Liu et al., 2017). In this case, personalized meals that are produced based on different individuals’ needs for nutrition and energy, physical ability to chew and swallow, and age becomes very useful. In addition, smaller pieces of food will also be easier to chew and swallow for elders. In this case, the ability to tailor shape and dimension very important to produce the meals based on the different individual needs too.
Reproducibility
Another key benefit of 3D food printing is its nature of reproducibility. 3D printing enables chefs to produce exactly the same design for multiple times, especially for those designs that are especially difficult to produce by hand and reproduce. With today’s technology, the ability to elaborate designs and reproduce the special 3D designs helps the production becomes more rapid and ensures the quality of the food design as oppose to hand-made food (Koeing, 2016). In the high-end dining industry, the ability to reproduce complex food design is one of the major elements of fine dining because the quality and reproducibility are highly valued by consumers.
Simplified Supply Chain
3D food printing can also simplify the customized food supply chain. The robots (food printers) will facilitate the implementation of a strategy that produces the product as orders come in with low overriding costs. The production facilities can be near the end consumers, helping to simplify the customized food supply chain and bring the products to consumers in a more economical manner, specifically with a shorter period of time with fewer human resources being used and higher affordability (Sun et al., 2015). This becomes very beneficial to consumers because it leads to lower prices of customized food as the production process can precisely control the inputs and outputs of the 3D printed food and faster delivery of food to the hands of consumers. The 3D food printing technology can also ensure consistent quality of food products.
Challenges
Although current 3D food printing technology gives us the ability to control the flavor, texture, color, nutritional makeup, shape, and reproducible quality of food. However, the advancement of this technology also raises concerns of the edible materials and other ethical and societal challenges.
Challenges of Material
As the 3D food printing technology gains more popularity, there are some concerns toward the use of edible material, like the health concern for food as the temperature fluctuates. “During the extrusion process in 3D food printing, temperature fluctuations can also represent a health concern for food because the heating/cooking may promote microbial, bacteria, or fungus growth. Thus the industry needs to follow e.g. FDA guidelines regarding appropriate food temperatures” (Pérez et al., 2019). In addition to the temperature fluctuations, food materials with high viscosity and high consistency index are hard to be extruded from the nozzle. The precision of the 3D food printing process will also be affected if the food needs to be printed faster. This is because increasing the printing speed of the 3D food printing process currently requires a larger nozzle, but when the nozzle becomes larger, the precision and quality of printing the shape of the food will become worse than expected. How to adapt to the edible materials used to 3D print food becomes a major challenge.
Ethical & Societal Challenges
In addition to the challenges on the 3D printed food fabrication materials and processes, the ethical and societal implications that 3D food printing brings to the table are more serious.
For instance, “human nutritional needs has been shaped and met by eating whole, natural food. These contain trace elements microbial flora and fauna we are continually discovering the significance of” (Deloitte, 2018). In this sense, we have rich knowledge about what we have discovered as key nutritional elements that human needs for survival, energy, and growth. However, as we are continually learning about nutritional needs, we have to acknowledge that we have limited knowledge about human nutritional needs. We only know the needs that we have discovered, but we don’t know if there are any nutritional needs that are fundamental that has not been discovered yet. If a large portion of the diet is made up of 3D printed customized food, there may be a possibility that we are leaving out key nutritional needs that we have not yet noticed. If there is a risk of unknown malnutrition problems with the 3D printed, personalized, nutrient diet, would the promoting of the benefits of meeting human nutritional needs through customized 3D printed diet still be ethical?
Moreover, like other technologies, 3D food printing is also a process of automation. Whenever the automation topic is brought up, one critical societal question we need to think about should be whether automation that can bring convenience to people is worth the value to exchange for our daily activities, especially the social aspect of preparing and sharing natural food (Deloitte, 2018). To some people, the value of the social aspect of preparing and sharing natural food may be much greater than convenience. To these people who value their daily social activities highly may find a hard time adapting to the usage of 3D food printing because such automation takes away the happiness that can come out from making food. But to other people, this may be the opposite. As a result, the controversy around automation continues.
REFERENCES
Deloitte. “3D Printed Food — Just Because We Can, Doesn’t Always Mean We Should.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 14 Dec. 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/deloitte/2018/05/29/3d-printed-food-just-because-we-can-doesnt-always-mean-we-should/#7605603f2e93.
Derossi, A., et al. “Application of 3D Printing for Customized Food. A Case on the Development of a Fruit-Based Snack for Children.” Journal of Food Engineering, vol. 220, 18 May 2017, pp. 65–75., doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2017.05.015.
Goldberg, Dana. “History of 3D Printing: It’s Older Than You Think [Updated].” Redshift EN, Redshift EN, 21 Dec. 2018, www.autodesk.com/redshift/history-of-3d-printing/.
Koenig, Neil. “How 3D Printing Is Shaking up High End Dining.” BBC News, BBC, 1 Mar. 2016, www.bbc.com/news/business-35631265.
Liu, Zhenbin, et al. “3D Printing: Printing Precision and Application in Food Sector.” Trends in Food Science & Technology, vol. 69, 1 Sept. 2017, pp. 83–94., doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2017.08.018.
Pérez, Bianca, et al. “Impact of Macronutrients Printability and 3D-Printer Parameters on 3D-Food Printing: A Review.” Food Chemistry, vol. 287, 27 Feb. 2019, pp. 249–257., doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.02.090.
Sun, Jie, et al. “A Review on 3D Printing for Customized Food Fabrication.” Procedia Manufacturing, vol. 1, 21 Oct. 2015, pp. 308–319., doi:10.1016/j.promfg.2015.09.057.
“What Is 3D Printing? How Does a 3D Printer Work? Learn 3D Printing.” 3D Printing, 3dprinting.com/what-is-3d-printing/.
I am a student who’s currently studying accountancy and management of information systems. I am graduating this year and entering the MAS program at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. I love programming and accountancy as much as I love taking photographs and learning how to play the Rubik’s cube. I love trying out new things and learning new skills. Learning how to make accessible designs utilizing digital making skills is one of the new skills I learned.
This introduction into 3D printing applications in the food industry was very thorough and interesting! It was especially cool to get to know the different methods that are used in 3D printing. At first, I had thought that the only application of 3D printing was for decorative purposes. However, you mentioned other uses such as finding a person’s perfect mix and ratio of nutrients and being able to customize a food with that in mind as well as 3D printing food allowing elders to eat softer foods that their body is better able to handle. I had not thought that the applications in this field were so complex, and this is all very eye-opening for me. I also agree with the with the final point you brought up about the social aspect of making food. Every night that we can, my friends and I like to get together to make dinner as our way of keeping touch with each other. However, I think that the 3D printing being able to mix nutrients with more customization in mind may be an application of interest to hospitals in regards to patients who maybe need a specialized diet or could possibly help negate the need to take vitamins.