Mechanical design · Fluid mixing
Food 3D Printer Mixing Chamber
- At a glance
- Wide-blade hydrofoil impeller in a baffled chamber, sized for 1–50,000 cP Newtonian and non-Newtonian food fluids within a 60 × 125 mm envelope
- Methods
- Impeller and baffle parameter optimisation, drive and coupling selection, concept design
What?
3D food printing is a novel upcoming technology promising to serve up personalised meals with deliberately tailored structural and nutritional composition. The aim of this project is to design a mixing chamber and impeller to create homogenous solutions of a wide range of food substances.
Constraints:
- Impeller fits into a 60 × 125 mm tube
- Impeller height < 25 mm
- Operating speed 1–5000 RPM
- Mixture viscosity 1–50,000 cP
- Must operate with both Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids
How?
A wide-blade hydrofoil impeller within a baffle-reinforced mixing chamber was found to be the optimal design solution. A direct drive transmission with a set screw shaft coupling was chosen for actuation. Parameters optimised for the predicted viscosity range of edible fluids included number of impeller blades, impeller-to-chamber diameter ratio, impeller height, number of baffles, baffle width and peak power of the prime mover.
Result
The full design concept presentation:
