Did you know you can make tasty desserts via 3-D printing?  Yes, you can whip up a pizza, a burger and now even ice cream. Students at MIT did this recently with their “Solidoodle printer,” which they designed to be able to customize ice cream treats. But the real challenge with ice cream is the temperature, reports Digital Trends:

The 3D printer was placed inside a small freezer, while the printed mixture itself was sprayed with a liquid nitrogen solution. After several less-than-impressive early runs, the setup eventually printed a star-shaped dessert that might one day appear on a restaurant menu.

“We were inspired to design this printer because we wanted to make something fun with this up-and-coming technology in a way that we could grab the attention of kids,” Kristine Bunker told TechCrunch. “We felt that it was just as important to come up with a new technology as it was to interest the younger generation in pursuing science and technology so we can continue pushing the limits of what is possible.”

The MIT students had to modify their $499 Solidoodle printer to move the base of the device outside its original enclosure to leave room for the liquid nitrogen cooler. The challenge then was to create a mechanism that meant all the parts of the design were cooled in equal measure.

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