BARS Automated Pizza Cooking Machine

The build was a 20-foot-long, 7-foot-tall machine from a blank sheet: mechanical structure, conveyance and cooking mechanisms, electrical systems, firmware and control software. Plastic parts were 3D printed, metal parts fabricated, and the electronics assembled in-house — all of it converging on a single unit that had to make and vend a pizza without an operator standing next to it.

Before any large-scale rapid prototyping could start, the machine needed a concept the client could show people. It had to serve two audiences at once: our engineers, who needed a layout to build against, and investors, who needed to see what the finished unit would look like on a forecourt. That concept work fed directly into the product development programme that followed.

By being the technical hand of the BARS Inc, we helped them turn their vision into a product. Acting as their CTO, we supported the client during the fundraising pitches. Explaining how the machine would work and be made, we provided investors with the proof that this product idea was technically feasible. It made them confident that the project could be executed. And most importantly, that people in the team had the expertise to pull it off. Thanks to our collaborative effort, the client has successfully secured $300,000 in funding. It enabled them to proceed with the large scale rapid prototyping stage.

The partnership with our product design and development agency provided our client with one-stop shop product development service their project required. It allowed them to keep the machine in one place while both the mechanical and the electronics parts of the automated systems design were being developed and produced. It’s uncommon to have the capabilities for building a large size prototype under one roof. But our cross-functional team has all the resources and technical means at hand. And it enabled our customer to cut the unnecessary expenses and time for assembling a team, as well as sourcing materials and components on their own. The prototype was featured in several magazines, newspapers, and other media.

Automated pizza vending machine at a glance

Industry	Food automation / vending
Scope	Machine design, mechanism and controls, large-scale rapid prototyping
Product	Automated pizza cooking and vending system
Outcome	Working machine, $300,000 funding round, press coverage
Typical timeline	6-12 months for a full-size automated machine

The problem: a restaurant process, unattended, in a cabinet

An automated pizza vending machine has to store ingredients at safe temperatures, handle dough without tearing it, cook to a repeatable result, and hand a hot product to a stranger with no staff present. Every one of those steps is a mechanism, a sensor and a failure mode.

What large-scale rapid prototyping made possible

Full-size printed and fabricated parts let BARS test motion, clearances and the cook cycle on real hardware within weeks instead of arguing over CAD. We iterated the handling mechanism and the control sequence on the machine itself, then documented the build so it could be reproduced.

Outcome

The demonstrable machine did what renderings never do - it raised a $300,000 round and earned media coverage, because investors could watch it make a pizza.

Frequently asked questions

What does an automated vending machine prototype cost?

Full-size food automation prototypes generally start around $75,000 and scale with the number of mechanisms and the food-safety requirements.

Can you build machines larger than a standard 3D printer bed?

Yes - large-scale rapid prototyping combines big-format printing with fabricated frames and off-the-shelf motion hardware.

Do you handle the controls and software?

Yes. Controls, sensors, HMI and the cook sequence are engineered alongside the mechanics.