3D Food Printer with Microwave Probe for Instant Curing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current 3D printing technologies face challenges in printing flowing gelatinous foods like surimi, minced meat, and flour paste due to low mechanical strength, easy collapse, and difficulty in creating hollow unsupported three-dimensional structures, as they require instant curing and uniform heating, which is not effectively achieved with traditional temperature-sensitive material-dependent methods.
Innovation Solution
A three-dimensional printer coupled with a microwave heating unit, featuring a microwave heating probe embedded in the barrel wall, a cooling device, and an anti-leakage unit, which uses non-absorbing materials to optimize microwave reflection loss for uniform heating and prevent overheating, allowing for instant curing and stable microwave transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If conductive heating mode is used for 3D printing of flowing gelatinous foods, then heating can be achieved, but the material sprayed first is overheated and the material sprayed later is not heated thoroughly, resulting in uneven product curing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the conductive heating system (heating plate) with a microwave heating system. Microwave heating uses electromagnetic radiation to heat materials internally and uniformly throughout the volume, eliminating the gradient heating problem of conductive heating where the first sprayed material gets overheated and later material remains underheated.
Solution Approach 2:
The microwave heating system operates with periodic pulsed microwave radiation, applying microwave energy in controlled intervals to ensure uniform heating and curing of the extruded food material without overheating any specific region.
2Temperature
If microwave heating is used for 3D printing, then uniform heating can be achieved, but microwaves are prone to scattering, refraction and dissipation in air, making it difficult to ensure constant volume transmission through the microwave outlet ring to the printing cavity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a microwave waveguide as an intermediary component that channels microwave energy from the microwave source through the outlet ring into the printing cavity. The waveguide structure guides and focuses the microwave energy, preventing scattering and refraction in air, and ensuring stable transmission of constant volume microwave energy to the printing region.
3Device complexity
If microwave generator is used without cooling device, then the structure is simplified, but overheating phenomenon occurs and components are damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The microwave generator incorporates an integrated cooling system that automatically removes heat from the microwave components during operation. The cooling device circulates coolant through heat-generating components, enabling the system to self-regulate temperature and prevent overheating damage without requiring external cooling infrastructure.
4Ease of manufacture
If flowing gelatinous foods are printed without instant curing, then the printing process is simpler, but the mechanical strength is poor and the structure collapses easily, making it difficult to print hollow unsupported three-dimensional structures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the printing process with instant curing by integrating the microwave heating system directly into the 3D printer. As the flowing gelatinous food material is extruded, microwave energy immediately cures the material, providing mechanical strength to support hollow and unsupported three-dimensional structures while maintaining printing process simplicity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables continuous 3D printing with high mechanical strength and the ability to create hollow unsupported structures, preventing collapse and ensuring uniform curing, while preventing microwave leakage and overheating, thus addressing the limitations of traditional methods.
Implementation Method 1
a microwave heating mechanism for 3D printing. Microwaves are generated by a magnetron
Implementation Method 2
the material has a loss factor, the microwaves will attenuate when penetrating through the material
Implementation Method 3
a microwave generator is not provided with a cooling device, so that it is easy to cause an overheating phenomenon
Implementation Method 4
uses non-absorbing materials to optimize microwave reflection loss for uniform heating and prevent overheating
Implementation Method 5
a Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology is mainly adopted. The FDM technology is configured to extrude fused or pasty food fluid out of a nozzle
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure relates to a three-dimensional printer coupled with microwave and a printing method applied for food design. A microwave heating probe embedded in the inner wall of a barrel releases microwaves at the front end, and in combination with the setting of a vertical distance between the front end of the microwave heating probe and an extrusion nozzle, the effect of instant curing of an extruded material is realized. A cooling device is disposed so as to ensure that a material to be printed in the barrel is not cured by microwave heating before the material to be printed enters the extrusion nozzle.