Variables affecting the printability of foods: Preliminary tests on cereal-based products

3D printing technology was employed to obtain cereal-based snacks having a desired shape and dimension. The printability of the dough and the quality of cooked samples were studied as a function of two main variables: infill percentage and layer height. The obtained snacks well matched the designed structures but some dimensional changes were observed. The increase of layer height produced a reduction in the height of samples from 20 to 18 mm, as well as an increase of their diameter from 15.5 to 19 mm. This was attributed to the irregular deposition of the dough as the layer height increased. On the other hand, the infill level was more important for the changes in solid fraction of both raw and cooked snacks exhibiting values of ∼84% and ∼24%, respectively. The breaking strength of samples was strongly related to the infill level, although a significant variability resided in the level of layer height used during 3D printing.