There have been a lot of ideas on the HB about cookie cutter this
and that; we generally at some point want some flat object
represented in a cookie or cracker. I'm thinking silhouettes.
While bending some flashing for a pump house, I realized that
bending a thin metal strip into a variety
of shapes is really not that
mechanically complex. It can be accomplished with a minimum
number of brakes and presses, and rollers. Such technology already
exists in the sheet metal industry.
A small version of this could be rigged to bend metal strips into
cookie cutters. The input could be from computer software or from
a standard card that you draw on and the bending machine reads and
executes. The program would be made to bend tabs on the ends of
the finished cutter; these would be crimped together to close the
cutter. The kit would come with plastic "C" channel to press onto
one edge of the cutter to protect the user.
Thousands of shapes could be shared over the internet, and limitless
puzzles and themes could be produced. If you took a large picture
and broke it down into it's constituent shapes, intricate cutouts could
be made from a field with the right set of cutters. Imagine a
cathedral with stained glass windows executed in colored doughs,
etc.