Here's how to 3D print using mashed bananas
We've seen many people use food as 3D printer feed in the past, such as chocolates, candies and even ice cream. But can you imagine 3D printing anything using bananas? Sounds hard, if not, well, bananas -- but 3Digital Cooks' founder Luis Rodriguez Alcalde isn't one to shy away from a good challenge. So, for his latest project, he explored how to print out solid objects using banana mush and his self-designed extruder for 3D printers called PLYUMP. As you can imagine, pureed banana can't hold shape on its own, so Alcalde had to use potato starch as a thickener. His first attempt ended up lumpy and brownish, and honestly, quite terrifying to look at.
When he tried again, he used a smoother puree and orange juice (we think lemon or calamansi would work better here) to prevent discoloration. The final product (below) is still not the visually appealing masterpiece you might expect, but at least you now know where to begin if you're suddenly consumed with desire to create banana models.
[Image credit: shutterstock (bananas), 3Digital Cooks (3D-printed banana thing)]
