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Micromachines
Volume 16
Issue 3
10.3390/mi16030264
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Collaborative Heterogeneous Mini-Robotic 3D Printer for Manufacturing Complex Food Structures with Multiple Inks and Curved Deposition Surfaces

by
Karen Jazmin Mendoza-Bautista
1,
Mariana S. Flores-Jimenez
1,
Laisha Daniela Vázquez Tejeda Serrano
2,3,
Grissel Trujillo de Santiago
2,3,
Mario Moises Alvarez
2,3,
Arturo Molina
4,
Mariel Alfaro-Ponce
5 and
Isaac Chairez
6,*
1
School of Engineering and Sciences, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Guadalajara, Zapopan 45201, Mexico
2
School of Engineering and Sciences, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey, Monterrey 64700, Mexico
3
Forma Ciencia y Tecnologia, Forma Foods, Monterrey 64740, Mexico
4
Instituto Tecnológico de Tláhuac III, Tecnológico Nacional de México, Tlahuac 13278, Mexico
5
Institute of Advanced Materials for Sustainable Manufacturing, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus CDMX, Ciudad de México 14380, Mexico
6
Institute of Advanced Materials for Sustainable Manufacturing, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Guadalajara, Zapopan 45201, Mexico
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Micromachines 2025, 16(3), 264; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi16030264
Submission received: 29 December 2024 / Revised: 8 February 2025 / Accepted: 18 February 2025 / Published: 26 February 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Manufacturing Technology and Systems, 3rd Edition)
Versions Notes

Abstract

The necessity of developing more realistic artificial food requires the aggregation of different biomaterials in an ordered and controlled manner. One of the most advanced methods for this is food printers reproducing additive manufacturing processes. This study presents a fully automatized 3D food printer leveraging collaborative Cartesian and multi-ink robotic systems to create complex food structures, with materials with different rheological settings using a screw conveyor configuration with controlled motion velocity. The developed food printer followed a formal mechatronic design strategy with fully functional instrumentation and automation systems. An adaptive controller was developed and implemented to regulate the coordinated operation of booth robotic devices, which are enforced by the G-code corresponding to the target food structure, leading to the necessary resolution. This device was tested with different commercial food inks to develop structures with complex shapes. The workability of the developed printer was confirmed by examining the food samples obtained using multiple materials, including creating different three-dimensional structures of a single complex food ink and creating simple structures made of different food inks with diverse structures that could yield a synthetic tissue that reproduces synthetic meat.
Keywords: additive manufacturing; food printing; curve-shaped printing; multi-ink food printer; collaborative robotics additive manufacturing; food printing; curve-shaped printing; multi-ink food printer; collaborative robotics

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MDPI and ACS Style

Mendoza-Bautista, K.J.; Flores-Jimenez, M.S.; Vázquez Tejeda Serrano, L.D.; Trujillo de Santiago, G.; Alvarez, M.M.; Molina, A.; Alfaro-Ponce, M.; Chairez, I. Collaborative Heterogeneous Mini-Robotic 3D Printer for Manufacturing Complex Food Structures with Multiple Inks and Curved Deposition Surfaces. Micromachines 2025, 16, 264. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi16030264

AMA Style

Mendoza-Bautista KJ, Flores-Jimenez MS, Vázquez Tejeda Serrano LD, Trujillo de Santiago G, Alvarez MM, Molina A, Alfaro-Ponce M, Chairez I. Collaborative Heterogeneous Mini-Robotic 3D Printer for Manufacturing Complex Food Structures with Multiple Inks and Curved Deposition Surfaces. Micromachines. 2025; 16(3):264. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi16030264

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mendoza-Bautista, Karen Jazmin, Mariana S. Flores-Jimenez, Laisha Daniela Vázquez Tejeda Serrano, Grissel Trujillo de Santiago, Mario Moises Alvarez, Arturo Molina, Mariel Alfaro-Ponce, and Isaac Chairez. 2025. "Collaborative Heterogeneous Mini-Robotic 3D Printer for Manufacturing Complex Food Structures with Multiple Inks and Curved Deposition Surfaces" Micromachines 16, no. 3: 264. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi16030264

APA Style

Mendoza-Bautista, K. J., Flores-Jimenez, M. S., Vázquez Tejeda Serrano, L. D., Trujillo de Santiago, G., Alvarez, M. M., Molina, A., Alfaro-Ponce, M., & Chairez, I. (2025). Collaborative Heterogeneous Mini-Robotic 3D Printer for Manufacturing Complex Food Structures with Multiple Inks and Curved Deposition Surfaces. Micromachines, 16(3), 264. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi16030264

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