abstract
- © 2022 Elsevier B.V.The manufacturing of engineered foods is a fast growing area of additive manufacturing; however, the majority of demonstrated approaches have been limited to simple homogeneous food materials. While the direct-write printing of food pastes and gels allows for a variety of food formulations, it often relies on material modifications (e.g., balancing gelling properties and lowering viscosity) to enable extrusion. This food material modification happens through the use of diluents and additives at the expense of nutritional content and texture, leading to printing materials that lag the typical properties of traditionally manufactured foods. Vibration-Assisted Printing (VAP) is a modified direct-write approach that is capable of printing high-viscosity materials akin to common foods. Here, we explore the application of VAP to the additive manufacture of food by printing two high-viscosity dough materials; a model dough and a low-fat, high-fiber, high-protein lentil fiber formulation. VAP allows faster fabrication (print speed of 67 mm/s) than conventional food printing technology, does not require material modification, and achieves high geometric precision using a 500 ¿m diameter nozzle.