If 2014 was the year for low priced desktop 3D printing to come of age, then 2015 may just be the year of the 3D food printer. We have seen several companies enter the space, all promising to make 3D printed food available to anyone who has a kitchen counter and the pocketbook to afford one. Earlier this year, Natural Machines launched a crowdfunding campaign in order to raise enough funds to allow for the launch of their desktop food 3D printer called the Foodini. Despite not reaching their Kickstarter goal, the company managed to bring in investors and they plan to launch their machine imminently. Since then, we have also seen numerous companies, both large and small, dabble in the space with anything from 3D printed chocolate, to 3D printed bugs, and 3D printed cookie dough.
Today, one of the leading desktop 3D printer manufacturers, XYZPrinting, has announced that they too are entering the 3D food printing space. A subsidiary of the world’s largest electronics manufacturing conglomerate, Kinpo Group, XYZPrinting is aiming for expansive growth over the next year with plans to enter numerous markets, large and small, including jewelry printing, industrial 3D printing, and food printing.
The printer, which has yet to be named by the company, is expected to hit the market sometime around June of next year. Although a specific price has not been mentioned, the company claims that it will come in well under that of rival machines which cost between $3,000 and $5,000 a piece. Machines like 3D Systems’ ChefJet sugar printer, are what the company is likely referring to.
Simon Shen
“We are working with different suppliers of food ingredients to go with the machine,” company chairman Simon Shen told a media briefing yesterday. “We believe that in the future 3D food printers might be used in space to print out food for astronauts, a topic NASA is researching at the moment.”
Unlike other 3D food printers we have covered, the machine which XYZPrinting intends to bring to market will utilize special food capsules, filled with various ingredients to print edible items like pizza, cookies, and candy. The speed of the printer is quite incredible as well. Shen demonstrated two different printers, one which was able to print in a time span of just five minutes. One printer will be equipped with three different nozzles, allowing for the printing of dishes with up to three separate ingredients, while a smaller printer they will offer will have just one nozzle.
Let us know what price would temp you to buy one of XYZPrinting’s food printers. Discuss in the XYZPrinting 3D Food Printer forum thread on 3DPB.com. Check out the video below where the company’s Chairman Simon Shen demonstrates the new machines.
