Creating public and commercial enthusiasm for engineering research projects is often an uphill struggle but students from Exeter University have achieved it with ease. The interest surrounds a masters project, set by Dr. Liang Hao to encourage engineering students to push the boundaries of additive layer manufacturing (ALM) technologies and work with an appealing and highly commercial material, chocolate. It will also widen the existing applications of this technology from its current applications in aerospace, Formula 1 racing cars and the medical field.

The challenging venture has certainly attracted some leading industry support, obtaining assistance from electronic component supplier Farnell, linear motion specialist HepcoMotion and perhaps unsurprisingly chocolate giant, Cadbury. The engineering team’s work has led to the development of ChocALM, a process that can produce a 3D object of any shape in chocolate from a computer design.

ChocALM can be likened to 3D printing or deposition except that the confectionary structure is created by the application of layers of chocolate. A 3D computer image, usually in the form of an STL file, is the starting point. The software then breaks down this image into layers, applies co-ordinates for deposition and maps the necessary path. The build process works by squirting chocolate over the path of a layer and then lowering the surface where the chocolate is deposited to make space for the next layer.

Linear movement is provided by five HepcoMotion® PDU2 belt driven units. “This product is ideal for the machine as its zero backlash has allowed us to guarantee a tolerance in the deposition system of 0.6mm.