Food replicator next?
 

Early this evening, I saw on the danish news about a new kind of a 3D-printer from USA.

In this feature you saw this printer, printing out models to this architect.

Then I thought food replikator!?

Even thou we today have up-to-date 3D printers, that can perform very well, I doubt that we one day have such a thing as a food replicator, as seen in Star Trek TNG

Or do you disagree?

Markus

I also doubt it. Doesn't seem possible one could materialize edible food from nothing. And even if they could I bet it'd give you bad gas! :DL

Tastes just like chicken :haha:

Oh I think we already have them. What else can explain McDonald's?

you cant call that food :haha:

Heh, the 3d printer has been around for the past decade or more, i belive it works by building up an object in layers from some kind of glue or some similar material. It not such an amazing technological accomplishment really - but it has its uses.
As August said, you cannot make something of out of nothing, so a food printer would first need to be loaded with food before it could 'print' food :DL

It must be possible...they've been doing it for years on Star Trek etc. :hmmm:

In principle, as I understand it, matter can be transformed into energy, and energy into matter.

It seems to me the tricky question is not the "if", but the "how".

I guess that you were thinking Star Trek-where you just press some button and a few minutes later you have a delicious plate of your choice

That's not what I was thinking of.

I was thinking of making something that have to be cooked of fried after it have been made in the food replicator.

I know that in some university they had succes with a 3D printer-If I'm not wrong, it was human skin this 3D printer was printing.

Right now I'm wondering if a T-bone steak made by a 3D printer, would tast like a real one? Even if we use the same ingredients.

Markus

I'm still waiting for them to invent that machine in Hitchhiker's Guide which detects what you're craving and makes it for you :D

I once took a photocopy of my butt. You mean printing something like that? :hmmm:

:stare:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Sp-VFBbjpE

LOL :DL

Maybe it simply ate one of the staff when his tie got caught in the mechanism.

What they are used for is prototyping parts for manufacture in plastic from CAD 3D drawings and they do build them up in layers something like an inkjet printer builds an image. My experience with 3D prints comes from prop building where the 3D print is then used to make a silicon mold to cast resin parts from. In some cases the prints are used when the part is delicate or difficult to cast.