DEMM Engineering & Manufacturing
Sugar is printed to absolute confection
The Sugar Lab was started by a husband and wife team in Los Angeles when they were graduate students.
It was their friend Chelsea’s birthday, but without an oven they were unable to bake a cake. They tried making something creative using sugar and a 3D printer instead.
Following a period of trial and error that lasted well beyond Chelsea’s birthday, the couple – who had studied architectural design and molecular biology – managed to print a tiny cupcake topper that spelled her name in cursive sugar using a CJP 3D printer.
They thought other people might like 3D printed sugar objects too, so when they graduated, they started The Sugar Lab in Silver Lake.
The company is a micro-design firm for custom 3D printed sugar, and is bringing 3D printing technology to the genre of mega-cool cakes.
The couple say that 3D printing represents a paradigm shift for confections, transforming sugar into a dimensional, structural medium.
“It makes it possible to design, digitally model, and print an utterly original sugar sculpture on top of a cake,” they say. “All of our projects are custom. The design process begins from scratch, when we hear from customers.”
The couple uses printers made by 3D Systems, which has just entered into a multi-year joint development agreement with confectionary company Hershey.
Hershey is the largest producer of quality chocolate in North America, and will work with 3D Systems to explore and develop innovative opportunities for using 3D printing technology in creating edible foods.
The alliance combines Hershey’s worldclass food science and manufacturing expertise with 3D Systems’ powerful 3D printing technology and know-how to deliver new consumer experiences.
“We believe that innovation is key to delivering relevant, compelling consumer experiences with our iconic brands,” says William Papa, vice president and chief research and development officer, The Hershey Company.
“Whether it’s creating a whole new form of candy or developing a new way to produce it, we embrace new technologies such as 3D printing as a way to keep moving our timeless confectionery treats into the future.”
3D Systems released its ChefJet 3D printer, designed to deliver 3D edible shapes, in January.