There is always some small thing wrong with the sandwiches they sell in shops. Too much mayo, too little tomatoes... And most people's favourite sandwiches are probably based on so odd combinations of fillings that nobody else wants them, so they are not sold anywhere.

Solution: the custom sandwich maker. Punch in your choices, and a sandwich is assembled specially for you. Get the combination you really want, without compromises. Rye bread + tomato + pickles? White bread + mayo + bacon? Anything can be done. You can also use this to get just bread + butter (see link to another halfbaked idea) if you feel like it.

This would require all the necessary stuff to be pre-cut and pre-packaged in sandwich-sized and -shaped pieces. Some version of cream cheese rings (see another link) would come in very handy. The gooeyer stuff like egg and mayo will probably have to come from a pumped dispenser. To avoid spills and make sure everything ends up in the right place, the sandwich is assembled in a sandwich-shaped tube or mold, lined with plastic wrap. When everything is done, the wrap is wrapped over the top of the sandwich and the sandwich is ejected.

Since this is automated, and all parts are prefabricated, the assembly is quick and cheap. All ingredients are of course priced individually.

This could also be adapted to produce bagels and other sandwich-type products of various shapes in use in other parts of the world.
-- herilane, Feb 26 2002

Bread and butter http://www.halfbake..._20Butter_20Vendors
[herilane, Feb 26 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004]

Cream cheese rings http://www.halfbake...am_20Cheese_20Rings
[herilane, Feb 26 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004]

At last! A smoked mackerel, pickled onion and mango chutney sandwich!
For proper enjoyment, the workings would have to be visible, behind a glass screen, and suitably Babbage/W. Heath Robinson-like (wildly spinning, mayonnaise-covered cog wheels, that kind of thing).
Having said that, within about 2 or 3 minutes walk from where I work there are at least 10 sandwich bars which will make any kind of sandwich you like (assuming availability of ingredients).
-- hippo, Feb 26 2002


Hurrah! At last, somewhere I can buy a black treacle and pan bread buttie! Croissant! Only one question - woudn't it have to be serviced pretty regularly? I imagine that things like cheese, ham or lettuce would run out fairly quickly. And how would you stop the horrible crusty yellow bits of mayonnaise which form around pump nozzles from landing in the sandwich? Ok, so that was two questions. Forgive me.
-- salachair, Feb 26 2002


I think it would need servicing at least every day, just to keep the ingredients fresh. And the supplies of each ingredient would be adjusted according to demand. I guess it would have to have huge compartments for cheese and lettuce and other basic boring stuff, and smaller bags of mango chutney and treacle and hoummous with extra garlic...
-- herilane, Feb 26 2002


with preferably clean hands.......
-- po, Feb 26 2002


Having them dispensed by machine would have the advantage of making it a lot less embarrassing to ask for a peanut butter and pickled onion sandwich.
-- pottedstu, Feb 26 2002


you could always do it in the privacy of your own home pottedstu, there is no law against it as far as I am aware.
-- po, Feb 26 2002


I think I might re-write some of my ideas , one of these days... The recent 3 are getting preety stale
-- Sulla 's Ghost, Feb 26 2002


Yippeekiyee! A Blueberry Bagel with Vegemite and Cream Cheese Swirls!
-- thumbwax, Feb 27 2002


There'd have to be a panic "Make it into a burger" button for people who can't decide and are causing mounting traffic jams:

"I'd like a swiss and sardines and uh, um... uhh...."

(Because God forbid there be a "Cancel & Refund Money" button)
-- jester, Apr 27 2002


baked, I believe. In "Technology Review" vol 103, number 4 (July/August 2000) article "Jem Rowland and Mark Lee of the University of Wales in Aberstwyth have built a "Snackbot" that examines a finished food product, and then figures out how to assemble it."

Can't wait for one in my kitchen!
-- MuddDog, Apr 29 2002


Baked: insofar as that a.) Sandwich shops in my locale will typically make a sandwich to your specifications (using a special type of machine called an 'employee') and b.) There is another special type of machine called 'your own hands' that you might want to investigate sometime.
-- synaesthesia, Apr 29 2002


I read that last remark with my feet, syn.
-- po, Apr 29 2002


A bit WIBNIish. Why not just inject nutrients with a syringe? Those employee things at delis and other sandwich-serving establishments typically respond well to requests.
-- 1kester, Apr 29 2002


nice idea. make vending machines, 3$ for a sandwich. place in NYC. wach the money pile up. +'d
-- pwn3d, Jul 12 2006


Heh. Googled for "automated sandwich maker" and this was the top hit.

+ for you.
-- DesertFox, Sep 28 2007



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