Cake Printer
The Cake Printer is a custom-built food printer designed to print cake frosting and similar edible materials with precision. It runs on GRBL firmware, an open-source CNC motion control software, which interprets G-code commands to drive the printer’s stepper motors.
The frame is constructed using aluminum extrusions and V-slot profiles, providing a rigid yet lightweight structure. V-slot rails serve as linear guides, allowing smooth movement along the X, Y, and Z axes. Custom 3D-printed parts — including corner brackets, Y-axis couplers, and bed mounts — were designed to interface the V-slot extrusions with the motion hardware.
Key components include stepper motors for each axis, a syringe-based extruder mechanism for depositing frosting, and a heated or room-temperature bed depending on the material. GRBL handles real-time motion planning, acceleration control, and G-code parsing, making it well suited for this type of cartesian printer.
The design files, including 3D-printable STL parts and component references, are available on GitHub.