Introduction And History Of The Electric Hand Mixer
Mixers are one of the keen equipment which can be found in kitchen. The main tasks of this item are mixing, beating, whipping and blending. There are two types of mixers, they are Electrical hand mixers and stand mixers. When discussing about the electric hand mixer, it is a portable machine which is working with the help of electricity. It is made up of two removable beaters, a motor that runs the machine, a plastic coating, metal and wires. It also has a gear box to change the beaters rotating speed. The efficiency of this machine is very high. It can do the process faster and smoother than by doing it through the human hand. The very first electrical hand mixer was invented in 1885 by Rufus M. Eastman. Before its invented people were used to mix bumps and lumps and blended the parts. They stirred them by their hands with large types of spoons. Considering the latest technologies, we can easily do several changes for this mixer to get a more accurate product. As an example, we can invent more secure place to hold the mixer to avoid slipping it. And also, we can use a tighter grip for mixer’s holding section. In addition, we can also make the metal beater durable and sturdy.
When explaining about the stand mixtures it is a machine that can mix ingredients from medium level to heavy duty mixing purposes. Unlike the hand mixture it can attach whisks, flat beaters, dough hook. If we use a stand mixture, there is an ability to replace 25 kitchen items in home. This machine was invented by Sunbeam by 1930. It was known as Mixmaster at that time. After 7 years in 1937 Egmont Arens redesigned the stand mixer with the model K which is still using today also. It was very expensive when it was made. It can use as a slicer, ice cream maker, meat grinder, juicer, strainer etc.
We were able to discuss 3 components of the electric hand mixer. They are,
- Plastic body of the mixer
- Metal part of the Whisk
- Motor of the mixer.
Discussion
- Plastic body of the electric hand mixer
History of the component
As we consider the electric hand mixer we can see that the outer area which means the body of the body of the plastic is made out of plastic. Mainly we use ABS types of plastics. ABS plastic, which means Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene is the thermoplastic polymer. Meaning of Polymer is “a lot of parts” The very first synthetic plastic was made by John Wesley Hyatt in 1869. Before the invention of plastic people were used to use cellulose. After this he discovered that plastic can be design into variety of shapes. This discovery was an evolutional thing. Nature supplied wood, stone, water etc. But people wanted to create more materials without the help of natural resources. So, these materials helped them socially and economically as well. Because some of the natural resources are scare.
Later that in 1907 Leo Bakelite invented Bakelite which was the first fully synthetic plastic. He did not use any natural resource for that. Bakelite was a good insulator plus it is a durable compound so that it is ideal to use them for Mechanical mass production. Recently plastic played a keen role in every industry. One of the main reasons that plastic came to the industrial level was the 2nd World War. After inventing Nylon by Wallace Carothers in 1935 people were used to design products like helmet liners, parachutes, body armors etc. Nowadays plastic is very essential in many ways. Body of the cell phones, lap tops and many other technical devices. Using plastic is way cheaper, easier, safer and stronger rather than using natural resources like cellulose.
The purpose
The main purpose of having a plastic-coated body is to prevent the user from contacting the AC current of the internal circuits of the mixer. And also, it is easy to hold a plastic material as handle instead of using a metal one. Because of this plastic body it the machine won’t be facing any issues like getting electrocuted and getting harmed by the internal machinery parts. Furthermore, the ABS plastic is relatively harmless and does not include any poison. Scientists found that it has not any adverse health effects. And another advantage of ABS plastic is that it can be painted, glued, machined very easily. From that we can get a good output product effectively.
Material Related problems
When dealing with plastic there are some industrial problems too. When the internal motor of the Electric hand mixer is heated up rapidly. Because of that it emits reasonable thermo rays. The cover will sometimes get heated without any resistant. And also, plastic is not a hard material so that it gets damaged very quickly. Physical Properties ABS plastic is a tough material which has a high impact and mechanical strength. And also, it is lightweight and rigid as well. Because of this toughness ABS plastic is used to design tough products like pipes, industrial enclosures, machine parts etc.
- Metal part of the Whisk
Whisk is one of the main components of the electric hand mixer. It is used to blend ingredients smoothly. This process is known as whipping. The metal part of the whisk is mainly made by Aluminium. There are various kinds of whisks items. The first invention of it was on the 19th century. Later on, in 1963 Julia Child re designed it and introduced at an American TV program and it was well published among Americans.
These are the several types of whisks and the brief explanation about each of them.
- Balloon whisk - Most popular type of whisk. It consists of 8 or more flexible wires where join at an end which is attached to a handle.
- French whisk - This is the other most popular and mostly use whisk out of all. This is kind of a longer and narrower than the balloon whisk. It is a series of overlapping flexible wires which are connected at the handle.
- Spiral Whisk - It consist of rounded loops and the wires are also coiled around
- Coil whisk – Shape is almost like a balloon. It has been designed by one single wire which spirals into a round shape.
- Cage whisk – Almost like a Small ball-shaped wire. This is mainly famous for whipping cream.
History of the component
As I mentioned above whisk is made out of Aluminium. When discussing about metal aluminium it is denoting with the symbol Al. It is a bright silvery metal which is resistant against corrosion. The atomic number of aluminium is 13. In the 5th century BCE aluminium was known as alum. And then in between the 14th and 17th centuries which was also known as the Renaissance period people thought that it was a salt of a new earth. During the 18th century they discovered that the earth was an oxide of a new metal. It was discovered by Hans Christian Orsted in 1825. Soon after this invention the price of the Aluminium increased highly and it started to reduce after the first Aluminium product by Henri Etienne in 1856. In the 20th century aluminium has become a key element in industry. In 1900s the production growth of the aluminnium was 6,800 metric tons but 2015 it has become 57,500,000 tons. As you can see there is a huge expansion in productivity of Aluminim because of the advantages of it. Material related problems
Since aluminium is a good element to use as the whisk of the hand mixer but also it has some adverse reasons too. As the hand mixer is a kitchen equipment it is always dealing with the air and water. Sometimes it will try to corrode. In some environments, the rate of corrosion of aluminium increase rapidly. Situations like porosity, chemical reactions, particle distributions are some of the other problems regarding aluminium.
Purpose and Physical properties of Aluminium
Aluminium is a strong and a light element which has a density of 2,700 kg/m3. Because of this low weight it is easy to hold the item for a long time period. And also, it is easy for transportation too. It has a higher tensile strength as well. Aluminium does not have any taste so that it can be easily used to deal with food items. And also, aluminium is a ductile metal and has low melting point too. Aluminium is a good conductor So that it has a good energy efficient system. This element forms an oxide layer around the material. Because of that it has a higher resistance of corrosion and it may supportive for a higher durability too. Maintaining the element is also very easy and the cost and the time for the maintenance are also very cheap. Most importantly recycling procedure is also easy for aluminium. It takes less than 3% of the energy to re-melt aluminium. Furthermore, aluminium has an excellent reflector of radiant energy for UV to infra- red. Thermal conductivity of aluminnium is three times greater than steel. So that it is really good for use as the material of whisk. Because of that it can easily use for both heating and cooling conditions.
