Demonstrations of Additive Manufacturing for the Hospitality Industry

This article demonstrates the potential application of additive manufacturing techniques and technologies in food safe applications for industrial, commercial, and consumer scales. We produced an entirely additively manufactured dinner to demonstrate use cases of the technology. Drawing on additive manufacturing's strengths of low production runs and low-cost geometric complexity, we directly produced tableware of complex form targeted for limited audiences. Current additive manufacturing techniques lack the required process control and certifications for widespread use in food contact applications. The use of coatings can mitigate the concern for prototypes and small-scale production. Directly printing food-related items is of use for tableware in increasing artistry, addressing niche markets, and prototyping. Other researchers in the commercial and private sectors can build upon this work to develop the processes and procedures needed to enable more widespread adoption of 3D printing in food-related industries. The article focuses on a potential new market for existing 3D printing technologies and lays out a series of barriers to be overcome.