14 DAY TRIAL // There are many techniques that can be used to turn pasta into various shapes, but they are mostly the same as they were a century ago, when people actually started to experiment with different types and shapes of dough.
Barilla, a food company from Italy that was founded way back in 1877, decided that enough was enough. It was high time someone invented a new type of pasta.
And because it wants as much variety as possible, at least until it settles on one or a few new designs, it has launched the Print Eat contest.
Basically, it's a challenge for everyone and their mother to submit designs for 3D printable pasta shapes. Designers have to create the design and send it to Barilla.
Barilla will then make a prototype and compare it to others sent from around the world. Eventually, a winning design (or group of designs) will be chosen and mass produced.
Alas, the problem is that the design has to be something that traditional manufacturing techniques cannot, or at least have not yet, managed to create. It could be a tall order if one doesn't actually know the techniques involved, which is most people.
The pasta prototype cannot be larger than 30 x 30 x 40 mm / 1.18 x 1.18 x 1.57 inches and must be printable in ABS or PLA plastic. You can upload a design at Thingarage at any point within the next 60 days.