Foodini 3D printer lets you print out edible creations

If you’ve been waiting to jump on the 3D printing bandwagon because everything is just so boring if it’s not edible, you may not have to wait much longer. Two consumer products set to launch in the second half of 2014 will allow the general public to take semi-liquified food substances and squirt them through a 3D printer in geometric designs, and of course the first thing we’re going to try is the hamburger.

Natural Machines has been making our mouths water with its planned Foodini food 3D printer for months. Now, it looks like it will ship the first model in January 2015 to people who back the Barcelona-based startup’s Kickstarter campaign. Food is one of the oldest desktop 3D printing mediums. Like existing food printers, the Foodini is compatible with ingredients that are not too firm and not too runny; think cookie dough or Velveeta cheese. It can print vase-like chocolate pieces, dinosaur-shaped quiches (pictured above) or anything else a user dreams up. But Natural Machines’ main innovation was building a printer that can print with six different ingredients and designing it to look like any other compact, stainless steel appliance.