6 July 2011 Last updated at 07:35

UK scientists create at-home 3D chocolate printer

Chocolate lovers have something to be very excited about... you may soon be able to print your own 3D chocolate creations!

A 3D printer that uses chocolate has been made at the University of Exeter.

It prints layers of chocolate instead of ink or plastic, and some shops have already said they'd be interested in selling it.

3D printing of plastic and metal is already used to speed up design work, but this takes it one step further.

The machine builds up objects layer by layer

Lead scientist Dr Liang Hao said chocolate printing starts with a flat image (like the ones ordinary printers make).

"And then you do a 3D shape - layer by layer, printing chocolate instead of ink, like if you were layering 2D paper to form a 3D shape."

Once a layer of the melted chocolate is finished, it hardens, and the machine moves on to the next layer.

The printer uses chocolate instead of ink

If you got your hands on one of these machines, you'd be able to design any object you like on a computer, and then hit print!

Besides making 3D chocolate, Dr Hao's team wants to creating a chocolate website.

"Chocolate has a lot of social purpose, so our intention is to develop a community and share the designs, ideas and experience about it."