An ice machine has a circular part that holds the water whil

An ice machine has a circular part that holds the water while it freezes to cubes and then is struck by a hammer to release the ice cubes. The part must be made of metal. What metal would be a good choice for this part? What would be a good process to manufacture the part? List at least 3 reasons for your selection.

Solution

The Partt should be made of mild steel as the application requires abosorbing of the shocks given by hammer.Mild steel have higher toughness(ability to absorb shock).The ice on cooling expands i.e the volume of ice increases the vessel should be able to deform a little to adjust the change in volume.The vessel should also be able to regain its its original shape once the ice is removed,hence ductile material is required.For converting water in ice heat has to be extracted from the water,so the thermal conductivity of the vessel is also one factor.Mild steel is cheap easily machinable metal,hence it should be used.

The vessel can be maufactured by rolling the mild steel sheet in form of cylinder and welding it with a circular base.