[3D Printing News] 3D Printed Cookie Molds
Two years ago, when Stacey McLeod started her cookie baking business, she had no idea she was entering a completely new field: custom-made cookie molds.
Now, with the help of her Ultimaker 2, she is able to work in full-production mode, narrowing her focus and expanding the creations she sells online.
3D printing helps mold designers break the mold.
Stacey , a manager, mom, and avid cookie lover, is breaking the mold in the cookie world.
It's not common to find a designer who uses molds themselves, but it's even harder to find a designer who produces molds.
We followed in Stacey's footsteps to learn how 3D printing helped her expand her business from cookies to molds.
Staysea cookie cutters
From the company to the cookies
Stacey was born in Toronto, earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree from university, and has had a successful career in management.
She eventually settled down in a suburb of Mississauga, Canada. After her child was born, she focused on being a mother and decided to start a cookie business two years ago.
The cookies were very popular in the local community. She started it as a side business, where she could only take a few orders so she could manage her other jobs and activities at the same time. Each cookie was a special order.
Special cookies require special molds
But her special cookies required very specific cookie cutters. Stacey would spend hours searching through countless online stores to find the exact molds she wanted. She found herself increasingly ordering molds from the United States. This brought the hassle of exchange rates, customs duties, shipping, taxes, and so on, and the molds still weren't what she wanted.
What she truly wanted was to be able to perfectly create the molds she envisioned. Designing molds and 3D printing made her realize this. She began in December 2015.
Tools for 3D printing cookies still exist today.
Besides making her own molds, she quickly discovered that other cookie makers did the same. "They had an idea, I designed and printed it. I was endlessly inspired and in awe. I could make anything." 
Pineapple Cookie Design 3D printed pineapple-shaped cookie cutter
3D printing to rescue
Stacey's super tech-obsessed husband first introduced her to 3D printing. He showed her YouTube videos of time-lapse printing and quickly designed some pieces at the local library to have printed. They only realized they needed to buy their own 3D printer when they discovered they could use 3D printing to make their own cookie cutters.
Stacey received an Ultimaker 2 as a Christmas gift in 2015 and has been printing ever since.
Of course, her first printed item was a cookie cutter. She admits, "My first cutter was too small, too thin, and broke very quickly, but I was very happy to have created something."
The dies she prints now are sturdy, sharp, and durable, but she still keeps the first one. 
Her initial prints came from Thingiverse and other pre-designed archives. After graduating, she used the CookieCaster.com website to design her own stencils.
Stacey's husband followed up by designing the first cookie cutter using AutoDesk Fusion. She has been using her Ultimaker to easily improve and enhance her designs through repeated experimentation.
The Life of an Entrepreneur
Like most people who run a business, Stacey found that her biggest challenge was time. 24 hours a day wasn't enough to get everything she needed to do done.
"I'm a working mom. My children are young and busy. I also volunteer at school and work part-time as a lifeguard. I'm trying to balance everything while building my career."
Using her Ultimaker, she can start printing, check the completion time, and then keep going until the next item is printed. I never have to worry.
I leave it unattended, and my prints finish on their own. It runs 24/7, and I'm never around, so I need to trust that I'll come back with a perfect cutter, not a piece of filament. 
Stacey at her workplace prints cookie cutters
Most advanced
Stacey says her printer is able to print "perfectly." She designs 20 to 40 dies per week , each available in three to four sizes.
She achieves a success rate of over 95% with her Ultimaker . She readily admits, "My Ultimaker is a very busy machine! It has to travel with us to the cabin to keep up with daily printing. "
I hear the print platform lowering its volume at night, allowing me to start a new print job later. " Stacey might be asleep, but her Ultimaker won't."
A Bright Future
After a wild summer, Stacey is focusing on her career priorities. 3D printing and Ultimaker will continue to play a vital role. She will no longer create custom-designed molds for others. Her new business model involves selling preset molds printed on Ultimaker. She will design and produce 8 to 10 molds per month .
Instead of producing large quantities of cookies and custom molds.
As she saw it, "It would make more sense to design a mold once and sell it a hundred times. I will make cookies forever because I love it so much."
You can follow Stacey's Etsy store.
3D-printed cookie cutters on Stacey's wall
Stacey is also busy sharing her passion for cookies, cookie cutters, and 3D printing.
In the fall, she teaches cookie decorating classes at the community center. Thanks to a 3D printer, her classes allow students to design their own cookies on the library's computers.
Then print it out and use it in class.
"Cookie cutters are a very convenient way to introduce people to 3D printing; they are very reliable and practical. "
Stacey's story is just one way 3D printing allows you to physically create something that was originally just an idea.
The result is the ability to bring diverse ideas into your life. Stacey says this has changed her way of thinking and solving problems.
In her own words, "You can do it much more easily."
Original link: https://ultimaker.com/en/stories/22436-breaking-the-mold-3d-printed-cookie-cutters
[3D Printing News] 3D Printed Cookie Molds
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