By Jill Scharr
If the designs printed with the 3DSystems ChefJet look good enough to eat, it’s because they are: this new 3D printer prints in sugar, everything from cake toppings to candies to drink accessories.
The ChefJet, for just less than $5,000, and its creations were on display at CES 2014 in Las Vegas.
We particularly loved ogling several spectacular geometric shapes and a wedding cakes created in conjunction with celebrity chef Duff Goodman from the TV show “Ace of Cakes.” Goodman baked the cake, then 3DSystems supplied the 3D models that Goodman printed and tastefully arranged on top. Unfortunately the gorgeous blue-and-white cake was there for display only. But we did get to snack on a few smaller-sized sugar candies in various flavors, including a mouth-puckering sour candy and a chocolate-flavored sugar that tastes not too different than actual chocolate.
The ChefJet itself is a huge machine, bigger than a kitchen oven, that prints single-color objects up to 8 by 8 by 6 inches. The higher-end sibling, the ChefJet Pro, prints objects up to 10 by 14 by 8 inches in full, detailed color, and will cost just less than $10,000. Both printers will be commercially available in the second half of 2014, according to the company.
Designer and architect Liz Von Hasseln, the co-creator of the ChefJet, told us that she and her husband Kyle were tinkering with their Cube 3D printers from 3DSystems to see what other kinds of materials the printers could handle. They soon realized that, with a few modifications, the printers could print sugary creations that were safe to eat.
After a few months experimenting with materials, the Von Hasselns figured out a few different flavored mixtures that were both structurally sound and extremely tasty.
They opened Sugar Lab, a company where people could order 3D printed sugary creations. Soon after 3DSystems contacted them with an offer to buy the company and turn their modified Cube printers into their own line: the ChefJet and the ChefJetPro.
