Critical Variables in 3D Food Printing

Abstract Three-dimensional food printing (3DFP) is an exciting application of the most popular 3D printing technology by which objects with innovative shape, structure and also functionality may be manufactured. By 3DFP, people could eat personalised food in terms of nutritional and sensorial attributes, maximising the positive effects of their unique being. To date, although the building of spare parts, fashion accessories, artistic objects, medical equipment, etc., is possible in almost repeatable ways without significant defects, the printing of food is still far from this result. The most important thing is that in 3D printers as well as in software, the critical variables and the firmware, which control the printing movement, are optimised for plastic materials, while any setting and optimisation for food have not been addressed yet. This chapter is dedicated to the critical variables affecting the quality of 3D edible objects obtained with layer-by-layer deposition of food materials. More specifically, we will analyse step-by-step each phase of the development of a 3D printed food from the use of computer-aided design (CAD) software to the setting of printing variables. Our main goal is to give the basic-information to control printing movements, making the match possible between 3D food and virtual models as much as possible.