The Pizza Race to Space
NASA made headlines in 2013 for funding the production of a 3D pizza printer to be used in deep-space missions. After the project took off, tech companies began to adopt the idea for those of us on Earth, and it’s easy to see why: fresh pizza minus the hassle certainly is an appealing option!
Though the NASA project has since lost its funding, 3D printed pizza is still on the rise — and it’s only a matter of time before it becomes commonplace.
How Does It Work?
Put simply, almost anything that can be pureed can be printed (see our 3D Printed Food article for more details). For pizza, the filaments would consist of dough, tomato sauce, and melted cheese, which are all pliable enough to dispense through the printer’s nozzle.
Enter BeeHex
The most current tech for 3D printing pizza comes from the minds behind BeeHex. The company aims to perfect their printer to create pizzas, toppings, and even desserts.
Currently, they offer 10- and 12-inch pies, 3 choices of dough, and sauce, and two cheese options — not including the various topping add-ons.
Why 3D Pizza?
Still not quite ready to abandon your favorite pizza chain? 3D printed pizza brings much more to the table — no pun intended!
These pies are tailor-made: With a jpeg file, you can build a pizza for any occasion without worrying about high prices, making them both personalized and affordable at roughly $8 a pie. The Chef 3D printer can crank out orders in five minutes, and has time to spare to clean itself automatically to ensure the next order is food safe. Once the ordering app is released, customers will be able to place orders and pay online in one fell swoop, and will be notified of their order completion immediately.
Progress Requires Patience
However, this technology is still being commercially developed and the app is still under construction. Until 3D printed pizza become more readily available, feel free to add your preferred pizza joint to your speed dial!
Feature source image: BeeHex, LLC / YouTube