The printer uses chocolate instead of ink.

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Chocolate lovers may soon be able to print their own 3D creations thanks to work by British scientists, BBC reports.

A 3D printer that prints layers of chocolate has been developed by University of Exeter researchers.

Lead scientist Liang Hao said that chocolate printing, just like any other 3D printing technique, starts with a flat cross-section image.

"And then you do a 3D shape - layer by layer, like if you were layering 2D paper to form a 3D shape," he said. Once a layer is completed, it solidifies, and the machine moves on to the next layer.

Getting the printing process right involves careful control of key parameters, such as temperature.

Once the prototype printer is perfected, it may find a role in the restaurant and food preparation industry.（點擊英國廣播公司網站查看原文）

3D巧克力打印機問世

?????? 拜英國科學家所賜，巧克力迷們不久就可以打印出自創的三維巧克力了。

?????? 據英國廣播公司報道，艾克賽特大學研發的這款3D巧克力打印機可以打印出巧克力層。

?????? 該研究負責人梁皓（音譯）博士表示，用巧克力打印和其它3D打印技術一樣，都是先從打印平斷面圖開始。

?????? “之后就一層一層的形成3D結構，就如同是將2D圖像堆砌成3D的一樣。一層打印好了便會凝固，機器就開始打印下一層。”

?????? 因此要保障打印順利進行，就必須小心控制溫度等關鍵參數。

?????? 一旦該雛形發展成熟，它就可以在餐飲和食品制作領域發揮作用。

(China.org.cn July 11, 2011)