ChocALM

The 2008/09 team bring new ideas to the ChocALM project. The team are presented with a challenging year, with the vision of bringing the ChocALM machine to a commercial prototype and creating quality 3D chocolate components. This new project year of ChocALM has began with a review of the existing design, and the team has already began on improvements to last years design. The project team recently met with the projects main sponsor Cadbury, and ensured another year of support to ensure the objectives of this year shall be met.

ChocALM Motion system

The project is a fourth year engineering masters project which will run over several years. The aims of the project in this first year are twofold:

• To create a three-dimensional motion system which can operate under computer control.
• To design and prototype a first chocolate deposition tool to temper the chocolate and then extrude it to form up the required model.

The first phase of the design is now complete, and we are currently manufacturing the motion system, ahead of testing and prototyping. In the course of this stage we have attracted several sponsors to help us the create an accurate and flexible system which can be used as a base system for the successive years development. Hepco Motion are suppliers of quality, precision motion components and have supplied us with linear sliders from their PDU2 family. Premier Farnell are worldwide distributors of electronic components and have supplied us with the electronic components required for the drive electronics, along with stepper motors for the motion system.

We are now moving on to the design of the second phase, the development of the deposition system. For this stage we are grateful to have the support of Cadbury Schweppes, who have provided us with invaluable information and data on the processing of chocolate, and are  supporting us through this second stage.

Following our initial appeals to a range of different interested parties, the ChocALM team have managed to secure three valuable sponsorship deals to help in the key areas of the project.

Hepco Motion, from Tiverton, Devon are suppliers of prescision motion systems and components and have offered their components allowing the ChocALM design to acheive high prescision positioning of the chocolate.

Premier Farnell are worldwide electronic and engineering component distributors who have supplied us with electronics components and precision stepper motorsfor the control of the three-dimensional motion system.

Cadbury Schweppes are manufacturers of confectionary with a broad experience in processing and developing chocolate. Their technical and financial support for the deposition phase of the project will allow the development of systems optimised for creating accurate, edible chocolate models.