BeeHex Robotic Pizza Printer
3D Printing Meets Automated Food Creation
Sophic Design partnered with BeeHex to develop an innovative and unique 3D pizza printer that could streamline and revolutionize the food industry.
3D Printing The Future of Cuisine
Recent advancements in AI and robotics has unlocked the ability to offer fine cuisine driven by automated technology. The ability to create delicious, flavorful dishes that are fully replicable in terms of consistency and portions across multiple recipes while simultaneously reducing workforce overhead creates an added level of operational efficiency that translates directly to profits for big and small restaurants alike. Because of the strategic advantages offered by automated food creation BeeHex’s 3D pizza printer instantly made waves in the food industry.
Out Of This World Tech
What do you get when you cross food with space travel? BeeHex is a company of brilliant thinkers led by former NASA engineers who had previously worked on food technology and robotics for human space flight. After departing NASA they developed recipes for normally semi-solid ingredients like dough and cheese that could be stored cold and fed into a robotic food printing system. This unique technology not only makes it possible to print pizza in fun and interesting shapes but also adds a level of automation to a historically hand-made dish.
Unparalleled Tech Meets Form & Usability
BeeHex partnered with Sophic Design to infuse reality into their technology which, while incredibly innovative and unique, needed a little help making the leap from prototype to product. Because BeeHex envisioned their design being used in both commercial kitchens and potentially on display in smaller venues it needed to embody the strength and reliability of a professional appliance as well as the elegance and appeal of a consumer offering.
Visual Territories & Aesthetics
Because of the requirement for this product to feel at home in both commercial and consumer-facing environments it was imperative to define and communicate appropriate visual cues to both user types. The goal was to identify and apply the best parts of the robust utilitarianism of commercial kitchens and blend them with many of the aesthetic cues found in high-end kitchen appliances.
Dinner & A Show
The internal components were laid out with the goal of celebrating the magic of the 3D printing process as much as possible. The metaphor for the product’s basic configuration was that of a performance piece where people can see and enjoy the pizza printing “show” with the main housing and the print area acting as the theater and the stage respectively.
Materials & Finishes
Durability, cleanability, and perceived quality were all product values that informed the color, material, and finish strategy. The overall design would be assembled using a plastic base and internal substrates with external matte stainless steel construction to help conceal minor smudges and dirt and make wiping down easier during cleaning.
Product Features & Touchpoints
Thoughtfully designed and elegantly crafted with the end user in mind, the BeeHex pizza printer integrates both technical requirements and beautiful detailing into a product that feels at home both in the kitchen and on the stage.
Toppings dishes sit atop an elevated platform with rubber grip
Clear plastic sneeze guard covers print area
Polished stainless steel handles when transporting
Dead-front indicators display dough, sauce, & cheese builds
OTS quick release couplings and touchscreen UI/UX display
Stainless steel build area goes into the oven and becomes the cook tray
Future System Compatibility
Sophic Design also provided additional strategic input around BeeHex’s future product roadmap. Considerations with regard to compatibility within a more sophisticated pizza-making system were given throughout the design process to help ensure that fully autonomous pizza making could be possible with the addition of additional machines to apply toppings and cook the completed pizza.
The images above help illustrate what a future system might look like between the BeeHex pizza printer and a compatible device that distributes toppings.