To some, it may seem like a dumb question, but its not so unreasonable.
Chocolate can be melted, shaped, and then hardened, which is really the basics of 3D printing.
It is possible to 3D print chocolate, there are some caveats though.
For one thing, youll need a dedicated machine.
3D printing with chocolate
Chocolate cant be turned into a spool of filament-like FDM plastics.
This means that it cant be extruded.
Instead, the chocolate is inserted into a cartridge and then extruded with a syringe.
Technically the class of printer needed to print chocolate is a thick paste printer.
These are designed to handle pastes rather than filaments and use a wider nozzle.
These paste printers can be used to print cookie dough, icing, and even meat.
As long as it can be made into a paste with the right consistency, it can be printed.
Being a thick paste, you cant get the same resolution as you would with normal 3D printing.
you could still make the same cool and interesting shapes though.
One concern thats important to take not of though is that the resulting chocolate may not be edible.
This is more of a concern for multi-function printers than it is for dedicated chocolate or food printers.
You really dont want your food to be contaminated with some of the chemicals that make up standard filaments.
3D printing chocolate is possible but the results may not be as edible as you would like.
Have you made any 3D printed chocolate?
Let us know how it went, and how it tasted, down below.
