Design-Fabricate Continuous Extruder Using Chocolate Materials for 3D Printers

The establishment of 3D printing technology, also known as Additive Manufacturing technology, is considered a strong and important step forward in the field of engineering and technology. It has been applied in most fields such as medical, electronics, aerospace, food. The application of AM technology in the confectionery production process has great potential because it can meet the users’ needs in for aesthetics as well as nutritional composition of the product. In order to meet the above requirements, 3D printers must have specific structures, especially the extruder structure. The goal of the article is to design and fabricate a continuous extruder using chocolate materials to overcome problems with the size and shape of the product. At the same time, the team also conducted experiments to evaluate the working ability of the extruder and find optimal process parameters. From there, giving solutions to improve product quality and simplify equipment operation process to expand range of users of this technology in the field of confectionery production.