Three MIT students have created a 3D printer for ice cream

Three MIT students have been showing off a modified 3D printer that can produce customized ice cream shapes, and if the process is refined successfully you could be having your desserts to order in the near future. Using a Solidoodle printer and a Cuisinart soft-serve ice cream machine the team was able to produce designs within a self-imposed 15-minute window. The students working on the project are Kyle Hounsell, Kristine Bunker, and David Donghyun Kim. To keep the ice cream cold and in shape, the 3D printer was placed inside a small freezer, while the printed mixture itself was sprayed with a liquid nitrogen solution. After several less-than-impressive early runs, the setup eventually printed a star-shaped dessert that might one day appear on a restaurant menu.

We Scream for Ice Cream! Three students at MIT, Kyle Hounsell, Kristine Bunker, and David Donghyun Kim have created a ice cream printer using the principals of a fused deposition model printer. Using a Cuisinart ice cream maker and a Solidoodle 3D printer, the team developed a device that prints soft serve ice cream. The modified 3D printer is housed inside of a small freezer and the extruded soft serve freezes as a line of liquid nitrogen blasts and keep it solid. “We were inspired to design this printer because we wanted to make something fun with this up and coming technology in a way that we could grab the attention of kids. We felt that it was just as important to come up with a new technology as it was to interest the younger generation in pursuing science and technology so we can continue pushing the limits of what is possible.” Bunker told 3ders.org. “First, we needed to print into a cooled environment so that the ice cream would hold its shape once printed.” the students explained. “We bought a small upright freezer which was large enough to both put the Solidoodle inside and allow for the full build volume we were aiming for.” Then they needed a shield gas to solidify the ice cream as soon as it came out of the extruder. They built a system to spray liquid nitrogen onto the ice cream as it was extruded. “To ensure that the extruded ice cream ended up with constant characteristics, the cryogen line was bent in a circle to go all the way around the extruder and spray the liquid nitrogen evenly around the printed ice cream.” they explained.