Material characterisation and process development for chocolate additive layer manufacturing

Abstract This paper describes the development of a novel fabrication method known as chocolate additive layer manufacture (ChocALM). The system has been developed for the layer-by-layer manufacture of creative and personalised three dimensional (3D) chocolate products. This study investigates the material and property behaviour of a commercial chocolate. Deposition experiments have been carried using the newly developed ChocALM system to illustrate the effects of the deposition parameters on the geometrical accuracy and dimension of the deposited chocolates. The results revealed that process parameters such as extrusion rate, nozzle velocity and nozzle height are critical for successful deposition of chocolate and the optimisation of these parameters enables the ChocALM system to create 3D chocolates with appropriate quality. Keywords: chocolateextrusionadditive layer manufacturingdeposition parameters Acknowledgements The authors like to acknowledge the contribution of the other group student members: Tom Bristow, Scott Butcher, James Chapman, Greg Iggulden, Ray Richards (2008–09 academic year) and Benjamin Brooking, James Bulleid, Adrian Carter, Andrew Miller, William Newby, Paul Stokes (2007–08 academic year). Acknowledgement is also extended to Mr. Mike Felstead in Exeter Advanced Technologies.