A typical 3D printer uses the best filament or resin to make prints. But Ellie Rose Weinstein’s Cocoa Press 3D printer makes edible creations out of chocolate.The long-awaited printer is finally here Pre-order on the Cocoa Press website (opens in new tab) with a $100 deposit. The printer costs $1,499 he said and comes as a kit you need to assemble yourself when it ships this fall.
Weinstein talked more about printers when he attended a recent episode of Tom’s Hardware Pi Cast. You can watch the video of the interview below.
Cocoa Press is an FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) 3D printer that uses layers of chocolate to produce objects. Layer position and thickness are controlled using G-code, a programming language for CNC (Computer Numerical Control) used in computer-aided manufacturing.
The basic gist of the language is to tell tools/devices to “go there and do this”. Weinstein’s Cocoa Press does exactly what many of the best 3D printers do, but instead of extruding molten plastic, it uses a special chocolate recipe.
The recipes (for milk and dark chocolate) are made to work with the printer, but with some experimentation you can create your own chocolates. Chocolate ‘filaments’ are delivered in 70g ‘chocolate core’ cylinders without air bubbles. The cylinder is heated to just above body temperature and pushed against the build plate with 10 pounds of force. The chocolate is then cooled to form layers.
image 1 of Five
FDM printers use a nozzle to extrude heated material. Cocoa Press is no exception. Instead of the traditional 0.4mm nozzle, Cocoa Press uses a 0.8mm nozzle. This means you can place more materials faster. A dual heating system allows the nozzle to receive a constant stream of chocolatey goodness.
The Cocoa Press has a build volume of 140 x 150 x 150 mm, a small build volume comparable to Creality’s Ender 2 Pro. However, 70g of chocolate has plenty of build volume. Larger builds requiring more chocolate are being considered in the hopes of releasing a means of reloading chocolate during printing.Cocoa Press The has a footprint of 365 x 315 x 700 mm, so it fits easily into your work environment.
image 1 of 2
Creator Ellie Rose Weinstein has been working on Cocoa Press as a hobby since 2014, but the project became a full-time job in May 2019. Over time, Cocoa Press improved to what we see today. Her Cocoa Press now can print mechanical gears, flexible models (such as fish) in place, and generate different textures using different infill patterns. Using Cocoa Press is as easy as loading chocolate into the printer. printables.com (or create your own), use PrusaSlicer to slice your design and print it.
Cocoa press arrived As a DIY kit for $1,499 or as a professional package starting at $3,995. A $100 deposit is required to secure the printer. DIY kits will ship in late 2023 and professional packages in early 2024. Cocoa Press claims the DIY kit requires him 10 hours of build time and the user must have access to a 3D printer. Print some parts. The 3D printed parts add-on (for those without a 3D printer) will be available for order in the fall.
