XYZprinting Inc (三緯), the second-largest producer of 3D printers in the world, yesterday launched its first 3D food printer. The device — able to print edible chocolate, cookies and pizza — brings 3D printing technology to kitchens.
XYZprinting — the 3D printer arm of the New Kinpo Group (新金寶集團) — said the 3D food printer is a milestone for the company as it combines manufacturing technology with the food industry.
The printer is the company’s first device to use ingredient capsules to produce edible items.
Photo: CNA
“We are working with different suppliers of food ingredients to go with the machine,” company chairman Simon Shen (沈軾榮) told a media briefing yesterday. “We believe that in the future 3D food printers might be used in space to print out food for astronauts, a topic NASA is researching at the moment.”
XYZprinting’s 3D food printer would be on the market by June next year, Shen said. The device would retail at an affordable price, compared with rivals’ expensive price tags of between US$3,000 and US$5,000 per unit, he said.
With new models to hit the market next year, the Greater Taipei-based company aims to more than triple its sales of 3D printers to between 120,000 and 150,000 units next year, from this year’s estimated 40,000 units, Shen said.
The one-year-old company also expects to make a profit next year after reaching the break-even point this quarter, Shen said. The gross margin for its 3D printers is higher than 10 percent, he added.
Research house Gartner Inc forecast that global 3D printer shipments next year would grow to 217,350 units, compared with 108,151 units recorded this year. Shipments would more than double every year over the next four years to reach more than 2.3 million units in 2018, Gartner said last month.
“Next year, we plan to introduce high-end 3D printers for business use [such as jewelry companies]. We are not only capable of making low-cost machines,” XYZprinting’s market development division senior manager Gary Shu (舒家誠) said.
Yesterday, XYZprinting also launched a 3D printer with a built-in scanner, which is the company’s first 3D-printing machine combining a printer and a scanner.
“The new 3D printer should provide 3D-modeling capability for the ordinary consumer,” Shen said.
The device, code-named da Vinci Aio, is available via online retailers, including Taiwan’s PChome Store Inc (商店街市集) and the US-based Amazon.com.
The 3D printer has a price tag of NT$26,990, which is much lower than the NT$76,560 asked for a similar model by AIO Robotics, according to XYZprinting.
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