Development of a Material Mixing Extrusion Type Chocolate 3D Printer

With the development of various 3D printing technologies, many studies are being conducted in the field of food printing. In particular, chocolate printing is widely used for decoration. As a result, there is a growing demand for color printing, which goes beyond conventional monochrome chocolate 3D printing. Therefore, in this study, we tried to confirm the possibility of printing a new color gradation by mixing two types of chocolates with different colors using a static mixer. For this purpose, extrusion type printer equipment consisting of extrusion parts with dual syringe, heater, and mixer, and transport parts with motors and linear guide were manufactured. Proper process conditions were achieved by changing the chocolate temperature and extrusion quantity. Through this process, the color-mixed structure was successfully printed, and it was confirmed through color-code analysis that proper mixing was achieved. Further, through the production of multi-mixed color chocolate printing structures with various shapes, structural and visual diversity was acquired.