Mar 9, 2016 | By Tess

If you’ve been eagerly following the development of the PancakeBot over the past few years, you’ll be excited to hear that the pancake 3D printer is now market ready and is ready for purchase in its final iteration. The pancake 3D printer, capable of making pancakes in almost any intricate design or shape, was presented at this year’s 2016 International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago, which took place from March 5th to 8th. There, crowds were impressed by the PancakeBot’s ability to print not only a number of detailed images, like the Eiffel Tower, or a dinosaur, but also a journalist’s face.

The PancakeBot is essentially a breakfast griddle that has been equipped a 3D printing contraption that, as you may have guessed, does not extrude plastic 3D printer filament, but extrudes pancake batter. The batter, held in a reservoir above the griddle, is fed into the extruder which begins to draw onto the hot griddle, cooking the batter as it hits the surface. The detail and accuracy of the images turned into edible pancakes are truly astonishing, as the PancakeBot even prints the batter in such a way that details, such as eyes or a mouth, cook longer than other segments of the pancake, making the details stand out.

The CNET journalist who had his own face turned into a pancake explained the process that eventually allowed him to take a bit of his delicious mug. He simply took a selfie, uploaded the photo into the PancakeBot’s special software called PancakePainter, and a PancakeBot representative traced over details of his face to make a simple drawing the PancakeBot could reproduce. From there, the image file was put onto an SD card and uploaded into the PancakeBot, which began the printing. Within just a few minutes the pancake of his face was cooked and ready to be eaten.

The PancakeBot was first invented by Miguel Valenzuela, who crafted the machine out of LEGO so that his two young daughters could enjoy fun-shaped pancakes. Seeing the success of his own invention, Valenzuela brought the pancake 3D printer to the World Maker Faire in New York where it attracted much enthusiastic attention.

LEGO PancakeBot

Acrylic PancakeBot

After further developing the machine over time, Valenzuela debuted his acrylic PancakeBot at the San Mateo Maker Faire in 2014 and found an increasingly positive response. In order to bring his product to the market, the inventor decided to partner with StoreBound, and now just a little over a year after the partnership’s announcement, the consumer-ready PancakeBot has been unveiled. The impressive pancake 3D printer is available for purchase through the PancakeBot website and can be ordered for $299 in either a black or red finish.

If you've been looking for a way to add some excitement to your breakfasts, why not switch up your circular pancakes for something a little more spacey, like this astronaut pancake, or more personal, like a pancake of your face. Bon appetit!

 

 

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LC wrote at 3/11/2016 4:54:18 AM:

If you don't get it, I feel sorry for any kids or grandkids you have. I can't afford it; but, I'd love to buy it for all the kids in my life.

Pablo Eskimo Bar wrote at 3/10/2016 9:48:39 AM:

Lighten up, Francis. Jeez. This thing is awesome! I love pancakes. I love technology. I love pancake technology. <3

Tommu wrote at 3/10/2016 4:26:40 AM:

These pancakes can also be used for 3d... http://www.pancakebot.com/post/4780628/ferriswheel-jpg

I. A. M. Magic wrote at 3/9/2016 2:54:08 PM:

This is NOT a 3D printer. I don't think it has anything to do here on 3ders.org. At best it is a "printer", or a CNC with a paste extruder. Will anybody actually buy this? It is $300 for something that will take longer to cook. I don't get it.



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