A group of University of Hawaii students recently partnered with a local chocolate shop on a 3D printing project that could help the business cut production costs.
The eight students in Advanced Additive Manufacturing, an upper-level mechanical engineering course launched this past semester by Assistant Professor Tyler Ray, designed and produced custom molds in collaboration with Choco lea in Manoa.
The course focused on how to use 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, in a variety of applications, and Choco lea will use the molds in the production of a new chocolate bar design.
“It’s been just a fantastic project. It really got the students excited to think about the whole scope — consulting and engineering and what does it look like to bring a product to market using the latest, cutting-edge technologies in 3D printing,” Ray told PBN.
“[The students] have done such an amazing job — it’s been a spectacular effort on their part to bring these molds to life.”
As opposed to traditional manufacturing that involves removing material from a larger piece to create a final design, Ray explained, 3D printing is the opposite — material is added to make the object you want.
Ray, a regular customer at Choco lea, said he came up with the initial idea for the project after watching videos that the shop shared on social media documenting its chocolate-making process.
“I thought, wow, these are the same kind of engineering techniques that we talk about in class,” he recalled. “It seemed like a really nice fit to see if [Choco lea] would be willing to partner with us and explore using 3D printing to make chocolate molds.”
Erin Kanno Uehara, the owner of Choco lea who also happens to be a graduate of UH, was all for it.
“At Choco lea, we want people to use chocolates as a way to connect and sweeten relationships and this is a perfect example of that and why we love what we do. We connected not only with Tyler, but also his students, and in a bigger perspective, UH and education to the business community,” Uehara said in an email to PBN.
“This connection will hopefully be the start of more opportunities for students to see how what they're learning and their work can have a great impact on businesses in different industries, our economy and the community as a whole.”
Ray said the project gave his students real-world experience in what he called a “rapidly growing field.”
“It’s all about preparing the students for what’s next — from an engineering standpoint, from a manufacturing standpoint — and what’s needed to be competitive now and in the next decade. Advanced manufacturing is really the future of where things are moving,” he said. Not only does he believe that this type of manufacturing will become more commonplace in the future, but the need for it is highlighted by the supply chain issues that have arisen during the pandemic.
“Being able to prototype and fabricate production-grade designs … and being able to do that locally with local materials is a huge competitive advantage. So we’re equipping our students to be able to design in that space,” Ray said.
In addition to teaching his students these skills, Ray said one of his main goals with the project was also to help a small local business.
Kanno Uehara told PBN that Choco lea has paid “at least $1,000” in the past for this type of custom mold.
“That is where I thought our contribution could be in that we can really reduce the costs,” Ray said. The class provided the customized molds to Choco lea free of charge.
Ray will be teaching the course again next semester — and he said he plans to continue the partnership with Choco lea for a new design. He said he would also be interested in working with other local businesses on similar projects in the future.
“From the feedback I have received, the students say it was rewarding to work with local businesses and really support the efforts and needs that they have,” Ray said. “And it’s been really fun.”
