From jet engines to office buildings, we've seen all manner of things constructed using 3D-printing techniques, but we're yet to see it used to make something that can cook us a hot meal. Until now that is. The Pyra, by Oakland-based company Fathom, is the first 3D-printed smart oven.
Despitetaking its name (at least in part) from “pyro” – the Greek wordfor fire – the Pyra smart oven is entirely flameless. Made from3D-printed, engineering-grade plastics, the device uses a fan in itsbase to circulate air over heating elements and through an intricatesystem of air ducts, achieving temperatures of up to 375° F(190° C).
Theteam fabricated the plastic components for the smart oven using a Fortus 900mc printer, which iscurrently the only system capable of printing using a food-safematerial known as ULTEM 1010. Once the Pyra was assembled and the non-3D-printed electric components installed, the teamdemonstrated its effectiveness by slow cooking a dry-rubbed cut ofbeef. The results look suitably delicious.
ThePyra is connected to the cloud via built-in Wi-Fi and can be controlled via an HTML5 webapp.There are no physical buttons on the appliance itself and the app isfully customizable, allowing users to adjust control options to suittheir own specific needs.
The device is actually an evolution of Fathom's earlier Aquino ThermalChamber device (pictured below), which was designed to incubate cell cultures. Thecompany has plans to make its thermal chamber designs open source,allowing others to 3D print their own device, whether they're usingit for scientific purposes, cooking, or whatever else they can dreamup.
Overall,the team hopes that the project will encourage both individuals andcompanies to push the boundaries of what's possible with 3D printing.
"Ihope this design inspires designers and engineers to challenge theway they think about product design and manufacturing," saidFathom's director of research, and Pyra's creator, Carlo Quiñonez.
Formore on the Pyra smart oven, you can check out the video below.
Source:Fathom
