A car, component or machine made of chocolate in 3D? That doesn't have to be a dream anymore. SchokoLogo offers the production of individual chocolate figures as promotional items made of chocolate in real 3D. The possibilities of making an additional impression on business partners with chocolate gifts seem almost endless.
Chocolate Figures Individual
We often receive requests to convert certain products or objects into 3D chocolate. A certain product is to be presented plastically three-dimensional.
One possibility would be to entrust this task to a chocolate artist. The talented Amaury Guichon, for example, is a patissier - a confectioner or pastry chef. The works of the award-winning artist can be viewed on his Facebook page or Instagram channel. With patience and endless attention to detail, Amaury can tastefully bring any figure to life in any size.
In most cases, however, the path to the artist is not realistic because of objective restrictions such as budget, delivery time and quantity of the individual chocolate figure to be produced.
How do I get my 3D chocolate now?
Schokologo produces your individual chocolate figure, starting from 100 pieces, flexibly adapted to your budget, size and packaging. The following options are available as templates for production:
1. STL - Format - This format has become famous through the fame of the 3D printing industry. The format provides geometric information of three-dimensional data models for manufacturing using additive manufacturing processes/3D printing or rapid prototyping equipment (more on STL). If you thus have an STL file of the desired product, have access to a high-quality 3D scanner or can get it from your structures, this would be optimal. Send us the STL file stating the desired quantity, packaging or budget and we will send you an offer at short notice.
2. Photo - Sometimes we get a photo of the product, mascot or other object of the desired chocolate figure from our customers. Unfortunately, a photo does not contain enough data for production in 3D and it is not sufficient for production. Data is missing from different perspectives, from above, below, front and back and from different angles. For the construction of a 3D-STL file you need at least 50 different photos. There are tools in the net with which one can try to form a figure on the basis of photos. The free software 3DF Zephyr can support you. You can find a detailed and well explanatory video about this under 3D STL data of photos.
3. Commission 3D designers - Just like graphic designers, there are also 3D designers on the market, mostly freelance. Just send the photos and get a quote. As a result you should get your STL file.
4. Send samples by mail - if possible, send us the item by mail and we will make a 1:1 copy.
With STL to the chocolate figure
With the STL file, we're almost there. Complete 3D shapes (without flat side) would have to be cross cut in the middle. This results in two models, each with a flat side. Both halves are produced separately in solid chocolate and then "glued" together with chocolate. In the case of a hollow figure, they must already be fixed during production, filled with chocolate and turned together until the chocolate solidifies. An example video of the company Brunner Schokoladenformen for casting a unicorn out of chocolate can be found under this link.
Beware of undercutting!
Not all shapes can be easily reproduced as described above. Sometimes an undercut prevents the chocolate from being removed from the mould. An undercut is a model that protrudes freely from the model and thus prevents it from being removed from its mould. The expression is also used accordingly in the artistic production of profiles, reliefs or sculptures. An undercut may be, for example, a cam protruding from the crankcase of an engine block. This shape element prevents a model from being removed from a mould.
As a solution, these elements must be separated, e.g. as upper part and lower part, as 3D data and produced separately in chocolate. This also leads to higher expenditure and higher costs. Alternatively, you can change the shape so that there is no undercut or the figure is displayed as a relief (highlighted chocolate drawing) on a flat chocolate bar.
Chocolate Printer
On the way to the future: At the beginning of the year, the 3D food printer "CocoJet" was presented especially for chocolate at the CES, the Computer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas. The CocoJet can print complex 3D structures from melted milk, dark or white chocolate - even your own face using a 3D scanner. This means that there are virtually no limits to the imagination and implementation possibilities.
Obviously, the chocolate printer - which is about twice the size of a microwave oven - is highly precise in the realization of the scanned image. As the first prototype of its kind, however, it will very probably continue to be improved in the future. For example, it may soon be possible to create multicoloured 3D products from chocolate.
The CocoJet 3D chocolate printer was invented and manufactured by 3D Systems, a company specializing in 3D printers, and Hershey, one of the world's largest chocolate manufacturers. This prototype is not yet available for sale, but it is planned to launch it on the market in the course of the year. Also Schokologo experiment currently already with advertising material with company logo, which we produce in a 3D printer - and thus as early and perfectly as possible to offer you real 3D promotional gifts.
Little question for the end: What products would you have the 3D chocolate printer create?
