Quick Facts
Photo of me:
M.S. Mechanical Engineering
-Dynamic Systems and Controls
B.S. Mechanical Engineering
-CS Minor (Pursuing)
-Business Minor
-3.87 Upper Division GPA
Projects
A few of my passion and school projects
3D FOOD PRINTER
Design → Fabrication
Overview
As the relationship between technology and the kitchen surges, there is an increasing opportunity for easy-to-use, automated devices to improve the home cooking experience. Our senior design project seeks to fill this latent need by combining additive manufacturing techniques with traditional food preparation. We designed, improved upon, and fabricated a 3D printer that prints healthy breakfast bars in customizable shapes. The breakfast bars can easily be baked in the oven and enjoyed by people of all ages.
Methodology
Background Research: Customer Needs Checklist, House of Quality, Prior Art
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Preliminary Design: Functional Model, Mindmapping, Pugh Chart
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Improving on Design: Low Res. Prototype, Design for Manufaturing and Assembly, FMEA
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Finishing Touches Final Drawings, Bill of Materials, Fabrication, Operation Showcase
Concept Generation
After conducting a consumer questionnaire to determine customer needs, the group began brainstorming concepts. 6-3-5 Sketching, Mindmapping, and Functional Models were used to create a novel product that optimized facets such as nutrition, reusability, ease-of-use, size, cost, and cleanability.
Design
The final CAD design is shown below. A syringe like extruder squeezes out the food while a core xy gantry system controls the movement. The frame of the printer was laser-cut from ply wood.
Manufacturing and Assembly
The build plate contains 7 unique components which were fabricated using an endmill, band saw, drill press, and 3D printer. The plate is controlled in the z-axis by a lead screw and stepper motor. Each stepper motor is controlled using Marlin software run on an arduino.
Final Product
Size: 15"x15"x22"
Budget: <250$
Food: Health bar mix
Shape: 7"x7", any shape, 3 layers high 0.75"
Time: 15 - 120 seconds
Recipe
¼ cup ground oats
¼ cup flax seed
1 banana
3 tbsp plain greak yogurt
1 tbsp honey
1 ½ tbsp nut butter (we used almond butter)
3 shakes cinnamon
Water or milk as needed to blend
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