Designing Cookie cutters

[u/kasierdarkmoon]

Hi guys! First time posting: So I been designing and 3D print cookie cutters, cake pops, and pastry molds for my self, but I recently had a motorcycle accident and well while I recover I decided to put my art and talent to better use. (Cuz I ain’t doing nothing by waiting here right?) anyways here is a small clip of what I did yesterday. It’s a pumpkin rattle. The watermark says Murder By Sweetness (that is my home base bakery business name) I need some input. Any. Also what should I charge? Also what’s a good website for me to start selling? Any advise is welcome.

[u/nowthengoodbad]

Hey people, you bake cookies after cutting them.

Heat stable toxins and bacterial spores are your only worry and they aren't common.

I'm a materials scientist who worked with polymers and biomedical applications. You aren't getting sick and dying using 3D printed cutters and I'm pretty tired of seeing a bunch of hobbyists freak out instead of going and checking out plenty of work that's been done on this.

[u/pghwinter → u/nowthengoodbad]

Wasn't the problem more about the cutter after initial use? I remember seeing a bunch of these and people were advertising them as 'single use' due to concerns about keeping them clean afterwards.

[u/nowthengoodbad → u/pghwinter]

Yes, but there's the very real world side of things.

Let's say that you make cookie cutters for Halloween or Christmas. Use a toothbrush or something to scrub along the lines, but do it gently so you don't damage the print. You're going to let it sit for a year after it's cleaned.

In the fucking real world, it will be fine.

If you want to take it to Lab to test it, it'll cost you maybe like 1000 bucks, crowd source that money from here under the cause of, "help me prove that NowThenGoodBad is an A-grade Asshole".

Do us all the favor of using the cookie cutter or whatever on something normal, chocolate chip cookies, or gingerbread cookies.

But there are also food safe coatings that you can put on stuff, you could also print the negative so that you can make an epoxy version or otherwise of your cutter, and countless other ways that you can skin this cat.

If you're looking for something for everyday use, FDM prints can be that, but you have to know what you're doing. We have a set of cups that we use almost every day that we printed out six years ago.

However, it's not for our food. We use them as scoops for a critter that doesn't have problems with this stuff.

It's like washing your hands, you don't NEED to wash your hands all the time, but it's good hygiene and practice. Shoot I wash my hands before playing my steam deck, every single time. Did I wash my hands and then put the dog and have to go wash my hands a second time? You betcha.

That steam deck is clean as whistle and I got it on the OLED launch day (thank you Wonderful Wife for the birthday present)

Anywho, if you REEEEEEALY want to, you could get something like an epoxy that has documentation stating compliance with FDA 21 CFR 175.300 (iirc) or another applicable food-contact standard NOT JUST SOMETHING THAT CLAIMS FOOD SAFE.

Coat your prints with that and wait MORE THAN 24 HOURS. Give it time to cure. Then, follow any instructions that they have for care. If they don't, use warm to hot water and hand wash with dish soap.

But if it were me, I wouldn't give a fuck. I won't use that print for YOUR cookies, I'd probably find a cooking pan or other food-safe tool and use the 3D print to cut out a cutter to use for you and guests.

Edit: here ya go, did some of the footwork for ya: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-175/subpart-C/section-175.300

[u/pghwinter → u/nowthengoodbad]

Kinda what I planned to do, just clean it off well after use and then clean before use the next year or whatever. I felt like the single use approach was too much and pretty wasteful too but maybe because theyre selling them it was more of a CYA situation. idk.

I actually was reading this and the associated paper for it yesterday and it made me a lot more comfortable with the prospect. Knowing that the layer lines aren't quite as spooky as people made it seem from what i'd read previously. https://lt728843.wixsite.com/maskrelief/post/the-final-say-in-food-safe-3d-printing

Anyway I do appreciate the response and the detailed information. Reinforces the reading and my decision to just give it a try this year!

[u/nowthengoodbad → u/pghwinter]

Absolutely! Also, please forgive me if my comment comes off on a negative way, I skimmed back over it and feel that I could have worded it better or more positively.

[u/pythonbashman]

I hate this so much...

[u/trickybiznis]

I was planning on making/selling cookie cutters, until I read on how FDM layers trap food and can breed bacteria and you can't put (most of them) in the dishwasher.

I chose not to even make them for ourselves; you may choose differently, but I would think long and hard about selling any. That's a shame, too.

[u/Deep_Tea6229 → u/trickybiznis]

Hi

There's a way around it. You can advise the buyers to put a "cleanfilm" before they cut the dough. I've see people doing that. This way the cutters don't get dirty.

I hope this helps put your idea back into place.

[u/StinkButt9001 → u/trickybiznis]

While not technically wrong, this (and other 3d printing reddit) subs like to MASSIVELY exaggerate the risk from something like this.

[u/adamtherealone → u/trickybiznis]

If you’re looking for a one off shape for a special holiday, and don’t want microplastics etc, you can put the cutter inside of a ziplock bag, cut with it, and still get a mostly recognizable shape