JP2021016349A - Three-dimensional molding material and method for producing three-dimensional food - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a three-dimensional molding material that can form a powder layer when molding a stereo three-dimensional food, and to provide a method for producing three-dimensional food.SOLUTION: The three-dimensional molding material 10 which is an edible powder is used when molding a stereo three-dimensional food 11 by a three-dimensional printer 12. The three-dimensional molding material 10 has an angle of repose measured thereabout of 43° or less, and a uniform powder layer 14 is formed in the three-dimensional printer 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a three-dimensional molding material and a method for producing a three-dimensional food product.

A method for molding a three-dimensional three-dimensional food having a complicated three-dimensional shape and texture by a three-dimensional printer technique has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the method described in Patent Document 1, three-dimensional food is molded by a binder jetting method. That is, a plurality of powder layers in which powder, which is an edible molding material, is layered are formed in a molding tank so as to be sequentially laminated, and each time one powder layer is formed, the powder is formed. By supplying a bond-inducing liquid to the layers and forming a bond in the portion of the powder layer to which the bond-inducing liquid is supplied, a three-dimensional food product in which the bonds of each powder layer are laminated is formed. ..

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-131507

In the case of molding a three-dimensional three-dimensional food as described above, it is necessary to form a powder layer with edible powder, but there are cases where the powder layer cannot be formed. It should be noted that such a problem occurs not only in the binder jetting method but also in the case of forming a powder layer.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a three-dimensional molding material capable of forming a powder layer when molding a three-dimensional three-dimensional food, and a method for producing the three-dimensional food. With the goal.

The three-dimensional molding material of the present invention is an edible powder used for molding three-dimensional three-dimensional foods, and has an angle of repose of 43 ° or less.

Further, the method for producing a three-dimensional food product of the present invention includes a powder layer forming step of depositing the above-mentioned three-dimensional molding material in layers to form a powder layer, and at least a part of the powder in the powder layer. It has a solidification step of forming a solidified layer that has been identified and solidified, and by repeating the powder layer forming step and the solidifying step, a three-dimensional three-dimensional food in which a plurality of the solidified layers are laminated is formed. To do.

According to the present invention, a powder layer can be formed by using an edible powder having an angle of repose of 43 ° or less as a three-dimensional molding material, and three-dimensional food can be molded by a three-dimensional printer. become.

It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the modeling process of the 3D food by the 3D printer used in the Embodiment of this invention.

In FIG. 1, the three-dimensional molding material (hereinafter, simply referred to as a molding material) 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention is a three-dimensional food product obtained by, for example, a binder jetting type three-dimensional printer 12 as a three-dimensional food molding apparatus. It is provided as a material for molding 11 (hereinafter referred to as a modeled object). As will be described later, the molding material 10 is a powder having an angle of repose satisfying a predetermined condition and having edible properties capable of forming the powder layer 14 in the three-dimensional printer 12.

The material of the molding material 10 is not particularly limited as long as it is an edible powder. Examples of the molding material 10 include powders such as dextrin, protein, dietary fiber, sugar (powdered sugar), cocoa (cocoa powder), glucose (monosaccharide), sugar alcohol, milk powder, and a mixture of these powders. Of these, powdered sugar is particularly preferable because it has a good flavor and melts in the mouth. Monosaccharides to polysaccharides such as sugar and dextrin are preferable from the viewpoint of the manufacturing process because they have the property of binding when they contain water. Further, the powder of the molding material 10 may contain two or more kinds of powders as components or powders, and may contain food additives as components or powders. The powder of the molding material 10 may be a powder having a relatively small particle size, granules having a particle size larger than that of the powder, or the like.

As the molding material 10, a material having an angle of repose measured about the molding material 10 of 43 ° or less is used. The molding material 10 having an angle of repose of 43 ° or less has good fluidity, so that a uniform and good powder layer 14 can be formed. The angle of repose of the molding material 10 is preferably in the range of 31 ° or more and 43 ° or less. When the angle of repose is 31 ° or more, a uniform and good powder layer 14 can be surely formed. Since the uniform and good powder layer 14 can be formed, the modeled product 11 can be molded well.

Here, the angle of repose is the ridgeline (conical body) of a mountain (conical body) formed when powder (molding material 10) is gently dropped onto a horizontal plane and deposited in a gravitational field. The bus angle) is the angle formed by the horizontal plane. This angle of repose can be measured under the following measurement conditions using, for example, "Hosokawa / Micron Powder Tester PT-E" (manufactured by Hosokawa Micron Co., Ltd.), which is a powder property evaluation device. The temperature at the time of measuring the angle of repose is 23 ° C., the humidity is 20%, and the measurement is performed according to the instruction manual attached to the powder characteristic evaluation device. Specifically, the angle of repose is measured as follows. Using a funnel with a diameter of 75 mm and a foot diameter of 6 mm, place a circular table with a diameter of 78 mm at a height of 70 mm below the tip of the funnel discharge port, and slowly pour powder onto the table from the funnel discharge port. Drop it. After dropping the powder from the table until the powder spills, measure the angle of repose using a protractor. The angle of repose is the average value of the values obtained by measuring 2-3 times in this way.

Further, the molding material 10 has a particle size distribution measured by a laser diffraction method from the viewpoint of forming a smooth surface in which irregularities on the surface of the model 11 are suppressed when the model 11 is molded using the molding material 10. It is preferable that the cumulative 95% diameter based on the volume is 537 μm or less. The proportion of particles having a large particle size in the molding material 10 is small, and the molded product 11 having a smooth surface can be molded. More preferably, the cumulative 95% diameter of the particle size distribution measured by the laser diffraction method is 537 μm or less, the cumulative 50% diameter is 198 μm or less, and the cumulative 15% diameter is 78.5 μm or less. As a result, the model 11 having a smoother surface can be molded. The particle size distribution measured by the laser diffraction method can be measured by, for example, a laser diffraction type particle size distribution measuring device "MASTERSIZER 3000" (manufactured by Malvern).

As shown in FIG. 1, the three-dimensional printer 12 includes a molding tank 21, a powder supply head 22, a bar 23, a print head 24, and the like. The molding tank 21 has a box shape with an open upper surface, and a bottom plate 25 that can move in the vertical direction is provided inside the molding tank 21. The upper surface of the bottom plate 25 is a flat horizontal surface. The molding tank 21 has a width in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1, and the depth changes as the bottom plate 25 moves. The powder supply head 22 and the bar 23 extend in the main scanning direction (the width direction of the molding tank 21), respectively. The bar 23 is movably provided in the sub-scanning direction (left-right direction in FIG. 1), which is a horizontal direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction. The print head 24 is movable in the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction, respectively, and moves together with the bar 23 in the sub scanning direction.

The procedure for molding the modeled object 11 with the three-dimensional printer 12 is as follows. First, the height of the bottom plate 25 is adjusted so that the depth of the molding tank 21 is the same as the thickness of one layer of the powder layer 14. After that, the molding material 10 supplied from the raw material tank (not shown) is discharged from the slit extending in the main scanning direction provided at the bottom of the powder supply head 22. The powder supply head 22 is arranged above the pedestal 26 provided in contact with one end in the sub-scanning direction of the molding tank 21, and the molding material 10 discharged from the powder supply head 22 is sent to the pedestal 26. It is deposited (Fig. 1 (A)).

After the molding material 10 is deposited on the cradle 26, the bar 23 moves horizontally from one end side to the other end side (from the right end side to the left end side in this example) of the molding tank 21 (FIG. 1 (B)). As a result, the molding material 10 on the cradle 26 is deployed in the molding tank 21. At this time, the bottom surface of the bar 23 moves at the same height as the upper end of the molding tank 21. In this way, the bar 23 moves to the other end of the molding tank 21 to form the first powder layer 14 having the thickness of one layer having a flat surface on the bottom plate 25. In FIG. 1, the step between the pedestal 26 and the bottom plate 25, that is, the thickness of one layer of the powder layer 14 is emphasized, but the actual step is very small. Therefore, by moving the bar 23 in the sub-scanning direction, the deposited molding material 10 can be developed (laid) in a thin layer in the molding tank 21.

After forming the first powder layer 14 as described above, the print head 24 is moved to the main scan and the sub scan above the powder layer 14 to form the solidified layer 28 (FIG. 1 (FIG. 1). C)). The print head 24 moves so that the position in the sub-scanning direction shifts each time it moves by one line in the main scanning direction. At this time, since the print head 24 moves from one end side to the other end side of the molding tank 21 together with the bar 23 when the powder layer 14 is formed, the other end side of the molding tank 21 is moved in the sub-scanning direction. Move to one end side from.

Then, the solidifying liquid 27 is discharged and supplied from the moving print head 24 toward the powder layer 14 in a horizontal cross-sectional shape at the position of the powder layer 14 of the first layer of the modeled object 11 to be molded. .. The powder in the portion of the powder layer 14 to which the solidifying liquid 27 is supplied is homogenized and solidified by the action of the solidifying liquid 27 to form the first solidifying layer 28. As a result, the first solidified layer 28 having the horizontal cross-sectional shape of the modeled object 11 is formed. The portion of the powder layer 14 other than the solidified layer 28 maintains the state of the powder and supports the solidified layer 28 of each layer that is sequentially formed during molding.

The solidifying liquid 27 may be harmless as food and may be solidified by homogenizing the powder in the portion of the powder layer 14 to which the solidifying liquid 27 is supplied, and a solidifying liquid 27 may be used according to the type of powder. be able to. The solidifying liquid 27 may be one that solidifies the particles in the powder of the portion to which the solidifying liquid 27 is supplied after the particles are melted and identified. Further, the solidifying liquid 27 may be one that integrates the powder by interposing between the particles constituting the powder. Examples of the solidifying liquid 27 include water, glycerin, alcohol and the like, and a mixture of these liquids.

After the solidified layer 28 of the first layer is formed, the bottom plate 25 is lowered by the thickness of the powder layer 14, and then the molding material supplied from the powder supply head 22 to the pedestal 26 in the same manner as the first layer. The bar 23 moves and unfolds the 10 in the sub-scanning direction to form the second powder layer 14 on the upper surface of the first powder layer 14 (FIG. 1 (D)). After forming the second powder layer 14, the print head 24 is moved in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction to form the second solidifying layer 28 in the same manner as the first solidifying layer 28. .. After that, in the same manner, the formation of the powder layer 14 and the formation of the solidified layer 28 in which a part of the powder of the powder layer 14 is unified and solidified are alternately repeated until the solidified layer 28 of the final layer is formed. Form (FIG. 1 (E)).

At the stage when the solidified layer 28 of the final layer is formed, the molded product 11 in which the solidified layer 28 is laminated is produced in the powder which is the molding material 10 in the molding tank 21. The molded object 11 is taken out from the molding tank 21 (FIG. 1 (F)), and the molding material 10 adhering to the surface thereof is removed. The three-dimensional printer 12 and the molding method using the three-dimensional printer 12 are the same as those of the well-known three-dimensional printer.

The configuration of the three-dimensional printer 12 is an example, and the molding material 10 satisfying the angle of repose condition as described above is useful for various three-dimensional printers forming the powder layer 14.

[Example]
Table 1 shows the results of investigating the relationship between the angle of repose and the particle size distribution, the formation suitability of the powder layer 14, and the surface roughness of the molded product 11 to be molded, for samples 1 to 6 of the molding material 10 as an example. Shown.

Samples 1 to 4 are granulated powdered sugars A to D obtained by granulating powdered sugar using a granulator. These samples 1 to 4 (granular powdered sugars A to D) had different particle size distributions. As a granulator, a rolling fluid coating device MP-25 (manufactured by Paulek Co., Ltd.) was used, and powdered sugar was granulated under the following conditions. The particle size distribution was adjusted by increasing or decreasing the spray flow rate and sieving the granules after granulation.
Air supply air volume: 8.0m ³ / min
Rotor rotation speed: 150 rpm / min
Air supply and exhaust temperature: 70 ° C
Product temperature: 45 ° C
Spray flow rate: 150-200 g / min

Sample 5 was crystalline cellulose (Theoras UF-F702 (manufactured by Asahi Kasei)), and sample 6 was dextrin (TK-16 (manufactured by Matsutani Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.)).

The angle of repose was measured using the above-mentioned "Hosokawa / Micron Powder Tester PT-E" (manufactured by Hosokawa Micron Co., Ltd.) under the above-mentioned measurement conditions. The particle size distribution is measured using the above-mentioned laser diffraction type particle size distribution measuring device "MASTERSIZER 3000" (manufactured by Malvern), and the cumulative 15% diameter, cumulative 50% diameter, and cumulative 95% diameter of the volume standard of the particle size distribution are measured. I asked. The particle size distribution was measured dry, so no solvent was used. The measured angle of repose is shown in the "Angle of repose" column of Table 1, and the cumulative 15% diameter, cumulative 50% diameter, and cumulative 95% diameter are shown in the particle size distributions "D15", "D50", and "D95" in Table 1. Shown in each column.

Further, for each of the samples 1 to 6, 2 kg was put into the storage tank of the three-dimensional printer 12 as the molding material 10 to try to mold the modeled object 11. As the three-dimensional printer 12, Projet660 (manufactured by 3D systems) was used. As the solidifying liquid 27, one of the five print heads 24 of the three-dimensional printer was used, and the solidifying liquid 27 was discharged from the one print head 24. The print head 24 was of a thermal type. The size of the molding tank 21 of the three-dimensional printer 12 is 254 mm × 381 mm × 203 mm (width × depth × height). The thickness of the powder layer 14 was set to 0.1 mm. As the solidifying solution 27, "3DS Cleaning Solution (ZC6)" was used. The main component of the solidifying liquid 27 is water.

During the operation of the three-dimensional printer 12, the state in which the powder layer 14 was formed was observed, and the formed state was evaluated as 4 ranks (1 to 4) as the powder layer formation suitability. The evaluation results of the powder layer formation suitability are shown by rank numbers in the “Powder layer formation suitability” column of Table 1. The meanings of ranks 1 to 4 of the powder layer formation suitability are as follows.
1: A uniform powder layer with good fluidity of the molding material was formed (best).
2: The fluidity of the molding material was relatively good, and a substantially uniform powder layer was formed (good).
3: The molding material was biased and a uniform powder layer could not be formed.
4: The fluidity of the molding material was poor and the powder layer could not be formed.

Molding could proceed for each of Samples 1 to 6, and a model 11 was obtained. The surface roughness of each of the molded objects 11 molded using the samples 1 to 6 in this manner was observed and evaluated as 4 ranks (1 to 4) as the surface roughness. The evaluation results of the surface roughness are shown by rank numbers in the "Surface roughness" column of Table 1. The meanings of the surface roughness ranks 1 to 4 are as follows. As for sample 5, even if the solidifying liquid was supplied, the molding material 10 only absorbed water (solidifying liquid) and did not become the same. Therefore, the evaluation result of the surface roughness was ranked as rank 4.
1: There are few irregularities on the surface of the modeled object.
2: There are some irregularities on the surface of the modeled object, but there are few.
3: There are many irregularities on the surface of the modeled object.
4: The modeled object was fragile and could not be evaluated.

[Comparison example]
The angles of repose, particle size distribution, and powder layer formation suitability of the molding material samples 7 and 8 as comparative examples were examined in the same manner as in the examples. The results are also shown in Table 1. In Samples 7 and 8, the surface roughness of the model 11 was not evaluated because the powder layer was not formed and the molding could not proceed.

Sample 7 is granulated powdered sugar E obtained by granulating powdered sugar using the above-mentioned granulator as in Samples 1 to 4. The granulated powdered sugar E had a larger proportion of particles having a smaller particle size than the samples 1 to 4 (granular powdered sugars A to D). As sample 8, powdered sugar NSP (manufactured by Tokukura Co., Ltd.) was used.

For reference, the angles of repose of two types of cocoa powder having different oil contents were measured in the same manner. The angle of repose of the cocoa powder having an oil content of 12% was 45 °, and the angle of repose of the cocoa powder having an oil content of 22% was 43. It was °.

From the evaluation results of the powder layer formation suitability in Table 1, it can be seen that a uniform powder layer 14 can be formed if the molding material 10 has an angle of repose of 43 ° or less. Further, it can be seen that a better powder layer 14 can be formed if the angle of repose is within the range of 31 ° or more and 43 ° or less.

Further, from the evaluation result of the surface roughness, it is preferable that the cumulative 95% diameter of the volume standard of the particle size distribution is 537 μm or less, and more preferably the cumulative 50% diameter of the volume standard of the particle size distribution is 198 μm or less and the cumulative 15% diameter. Is 78.5 μm or less. For example, as can be seen from Samples 1 to 4 and 7, when the proportion of particles having a large particle size contained in the molding material 10 is large, the angle of repose is small and the suitability for forming a powder layer tends to be improved. On the other hand, when the proportion of particles having a large particle size contained in the molding material 10 becomes small, the surface roughness of the model 11 becomes small (the surface becomes smooth). Therefore, from the viewpoint of molding the model 11 having a smooth surface and the dense model 11, it can be seen that the particle size distribution as described above is preferable.

10 Three-dimensional molding material 11 Three-dimensional food 12 Three-dimensional printer 14 Powder layer 27 Solidifying liquid 28 Solidifying layer

Claims (5)

A three-dimensional molding material that is an edible powder used for molding three-dimensional three-dimensional foods and has an angle of repose of 43 ° or less. The three-dimensional molding material according to claim 1, wherein the angle of repose is 31 ° or more. The three-dimensional molding material according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cumulative 95% diameter of the volume standard of the particle size distribution measured by the laser diffraction method is 537 μm or less. The three-dimensional molding material according to claim 3, wherein the cumulative 50% diameter of the particle size distribution based on the volume is 198 μm or less and the cumulative 15% diameter is 78.5 μm or less. A powder layer forming step of forming a powder layer by depositing the three-dimensional molding material according to any one of claims 1 to 4 in layers.
It has a solidification step of forming a solidified layer in which at least a part of the powder of the powder layer is unified and solidified.
A method for producing a three-dimensional food product, which comprises repeating the powder layer forming step and the solidifying step to form a three-dimensional three-dimensional food product in which a plurality of the solidified layers are laminated.

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