Design and Print a Cookie Cutter…In Minutes
New MakerBot operators frequently ask for a good first design project for printing on their MakerBot. Well, I’m a tremendous fan of the Custom-Cookie-Cutter-Generator by guru, a Processing tool for creating your own cookie cutter designs by adjusting nodes on a polygon and then hitting a keypress to generate the STL file you need.
Hitchcock cookie cutters by MiFGa
He completed his first version of the tool very quickly back in June as a part of the 30 Days of Creativity challenge. I used this version of guru’s project to make a pair of Hitchcock themed cookie cutters for the Halloween Challenge by grabbing the unlekker.net libraries and then jumping into the Processing script and adding the additional node points I needed. But aside from guru’s own cookie cutters, I didn’t see that many other people taking advantage of the tool.
Well, that is bound to change really soon — he has updated his tool to allow a great run-time version with a few more extremely useful keypresses, including “c” to circle up the nodes, “t” to load an image to trace, and even more exciting, “+” and “-” to add or remove node points.
How To Make A Cookie Cutter from Nikolaus Gradwohl on Vimeo.
He also made the above “How To” video which shows a few techniques including hitting the “c” key to circle up the nodes,1 so I really can’t see how any self-respecting MakerBot operator can avoid dropping everything to make a cookie cutter. In fact, I just made two … and it took me less time than to write this blog entry. Seriously.
— Matt
- I’d suggest adding a bunch of nodes with “+” if you have a really elaborate cookie cutter design in mind, and then hitting “c” to circle them up before you start to drag them out to trace an image. [↩]
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7 Comments so far
Luis Azmouz
Matt that tool is pretty cool! I used it the other to make a PacMan cookie cutter, it took 10 seconds to make. I’m going to make a ginger bread man, and some others cookie cutters, and post a collection on Thingiverse!
Luis
Matt
Yeah, Guru’s tool is just great — I have actually made other ones at well when first testing the tool that I have lost. I want to test running secondary impressions on this tool as well to stamp into the top of a sugar cookie. If I sharped the cutting part a bit and use butter or something on the cookie, the “stamps” might work as well as the cuts. But of course a Frostruder would kick tail on this should anyone have a compressor handy to try things out.
Glad you are going to post more cookies — these work really well and are, frankly, a perfect example for why to use a Makerbot instead of another tool. The other good way to make cookie cutters involves bending ribbons of wire — which works, but not as well as guru’s tool. There is no reason not to make themed cookies for an event if you can create a custom cutter in like ten minutes from idea to first print.
Also, while some folks have remarked on the raven cookie cutter I made that it looks too weak, I think (given the strength of ABS) that this design is as tough as you need for sugar cookies. And if you break it, why not print it again! (very little plastic)
I’m curious about altering this design for a thicker cutter.
mrbug
What about food safety? Is it okay to use ABS since it’s not going to be in contact with the dough for very long for each cookie? Would it be better to use PLA or is that too soft?
I’m assuming that you’d want to get NSF-verified ABS if you plan to make and use a lot of these.
Otherwise, this is a very cool tool. Make a few dozen and you’ve paid for the printer. Cookie cutters can be expensive!
Luis Azmouz
MakerBot is awesome, make anything that you can come up with! Matt I’m going to send you the pictures of my MakerBot with the lights on the “M” in a little.
Luis
The Easter (Stanford) Bunny Cometh - MakerBot Industries
[...] options, including Elk‘s Easter Bunny Cookies and brettjones Easter Bunny Cookie Cutter. (Make your own cookie cutters by using guru‘s Cookie Cutter Generator v2!) Stage your stained/painted/chocolate eggs in [...]
Vicente Garcia
Hello friends. I need to know the name of the machine that makes the cookie cutters out of metal or out of plastic. If you could give me the name of the manufacturer or the company or if you sell it yourself, I am willing to train with you.
Hope to hear from you soon.
V. Garcia
786-291-0670
Ron Kaufman
who can I get to make me a cookier cutter