Sorry, that's not a 3D-printed ice cream cone, Mr. President.

Sure, those 3D printers that can output confectionery creations in sugar, chocolate and other edible substances are great, but a trio of MIT students have upped the awesome. Using a household Cuisinart ice cream maker and a Solidoodle printer, the crew hacked together a device that prints soft serve for an additive manufacturing course. The modified 3D printer is housed inside of a small freezer and a line of liquid nitrogen blasts the dairy dessert as it's placed, keeping the object solid during the 15-minute process. That time limit was imposed by group, so that when Dairy Queen and the like want to offer custom creations, the wait time won't seem like an eternity. For now though, there's a brief glimpse of the action after the break.

[Photo credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images]