Design and development of compressor ice cream maker machine

Abstract

Ice cream is a very popular dessert. High-quality ice cream production should consider deliciousness, texture, smoothness, and fluffiness. However, traditional production methods are complicated, and the ice cream making technology has remained expensive. Therefore, the objective of this study is to design and develop an ice cream maker with a compressor system to strengthen production capacity and reduce raw materials and labor costs. The independent variables were the refrigerant pressure levels (10, 15 and 20 psi), quantities of capillary tubes (1 and 2 tubes), controlled by a type R-404a refrigerant, while the ice cream production time was 60 minutes per cycle. The speed of the motor was 140 rpm, while the capillary tube had a diameter of 0.7 mm and length of 3,352.8 mm. From the studies of changes in the ice cream temperature and analysis of the engineering economics of the machines, the results have shown that, with ice cream production conditions at a refrigerant pressure of 20 psi, the condition of two capillary tubes reduced the temperature of the ice cream solution until coagulation took place at -20.35˚C after operating for 46 mins. The temperature could be as low as -23.45˚C and still achieve good quality ice cream. From the engineering economics perspective, the findings of this study revealed that soft and fluffy ice cream on demand has a breakeven point of 639.8 hours per year and a payback period of 0.9 years when the machine is operated for 2,400 hours per year.