Design of Viscosity and Nozzle Path Using Food 3D Printer and Pneumatic Pressure Syringe-Type Dispensing System

Recent advancements in 3D printing technology have integrated with Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence, aiming to overcome the limitations of conventional manufacturing methods. In the field of functional foods, solvent casting, a common manufacturing technique, has been adopted to produce film-like structures with desired sizes and uniform thickness. However, the typical method of coating or injection on a conventional continuous film is difficult to produce in small amounts. To address this limitation, in the study, we developed a pneumatic pressure syringe-type dispensing system integrated with a food 3D printer utilizing fused deposition modeling (FDM) technology. A syringe type is needed to discharge crude liquid manufactured in the food field in a hygienic environment, and a 3D printing method that is easy to manufacture in small quantities or on demand was utilized. Through simulation and experiment, we wanted to confirm whether stable ejection results are generated according to the selected nozzle-based viscosity, inflow conditions, and the nozzle movement path of the food 3D printer. Based on the nozzle selected through simulation, it was confirmed that the fluid and flow velocity distribution of the viscous material were uniformly distributed and discharged under the conditions of 30,000 cps and inflow rate. By setting the parameters of the food 3D printer and preparing a coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) sample, we achieved a stable oral dissolving film (ODF) extrusion shape through the design of viscosity and 3D printer nozzle path. The optimal viscosity range for the ODF solution was found to be 25,000 to 35,000 cps, exhibiting precise dimensions and shapes without distortion and yielding the most stable extrusion results. We defined four different nozzle path designs based on minimizing the movement of the 3D printer nozzle. Among them, a 16-step path design demonstrated a stable extrusion method, showing no tailing phenomenon under the conditions of 0.2 MPa pressure and −15.4 KPa vacuum pressure. In future research, we plan to conduct additional research to determine whether the discharge results vary depending on conditions such as viscosity of the crude liquid, nozzle path combination, and ODF thickness.