Introduction of steam iron:-

A clothes iron is a household appliance used to press the wrinkles

out of and creases into clothes. When the iron is turned on, the
consumer moves it over an item of clothing on an ironing board.
The combination of heat and pressure removes wrinkles. Irons
have evolved over hundreds of years from simple objects made
of metal (though they were sometimes made of glass or other
materials) that were often heavy and hard to use. Before heated
dryers were invented, irons served another purpose as well. Hot
irons killed parasites and bacteria in clothing, and eliminated
mildew. Most modern irons are made of metal and plastic, and
have many features such as steam, temperature controls, and
automatic shutoff. Steam provides an additional means for
removing wrinkles from clothing.
Steam Irons. You fill these irons with water, which is converted to
steam and vented through openings in the soleplate onto the
material being April 1960 ironed. Steam ironing has several
advantages over dry ironing. The steam makes it easier to smooth
out stubborn creases and wrinkles. Some materials may require
no other dampening than that provided by condensation of the
steam. And the cushion of steam between soleplate and fabric
lessens the danger of scorching.
In the boiler type, a reservoir of water is heated to the boiling
point. The iron doesn't begin to steam until the entire water
supply is heated. In the drip type, one drop of water at a time falls
onto a heated surface, turning into steam in a flash.
Although the boiler type often is easier to fill and holds a larger
water supply, the drip type is more popular, mainly because it is
ready for action so much faster, in two or three min- Utes as
against five to ten.
Steam irons also can be used as dry irons and thus really are
combination dry-steam irons, two irons in one. A boiler-type iron
must be drained for dry use. The drip type can be switched in-
scantily from steam to dry operation.
Mechanism of steam iron: -
In 1880s electrically heated irons were one of the first home
electrical appliances. Today’s iron still applies heat, sometimes
moistened with steam, to dampen and flatten garment fibers.

What is electricity?
Electricity is all through
space. Electricity is a type
of energy that can build up
in one place or flow from
one place to another. It is
made up of electrons and protons and nucleus.

Current electricity
This is a
continuous stream of
electrical charge. For
an electric current to
occur, there must be a closed path or loop around which it can
flow.
Components of steam iron :-

Steam control
knob:- is a
components
which control or
stop the steam if it is more.
Spray nozzle :- a hole from where the water comes out.
Spray pump:- which pump the water out from water tank.
Steam barrel:-
Steam release activator:- which activate the steam to released by
2 min once.
Soleplate :- outer covering of iron box
Heat elements :- Most heating elements are made with a nickel-
chromium wire, having both tensile strength and high resistance to
current flow. The resistance and voltage can be measured with a
multimeter to verify if the element is functioning properly. Heating
elements are available in many sizes and shapes. In an electric
iron, the heating element is present between the sole plate and
pressure plate. It is pressed hard between the two plates. The
heating element consists of nichrome wire wound around a sheet of
mica. The two ends of the nichrome wire are connected to the
contact strips. The contact strips are connected to the terminals of
the iron. There are two reasons for which mica is chosen in the
heating material. Mica is a very good insulating material. Besides
that mica can also withstand very high temperatures. The entire
assembly of mica sheet, nichrome wire and contact strips are
riveted together resulting in a mechanically sound and robust
construction. There is an asbestos sheet, which separates and
thermally insulates the top plate from the heating element.
Water tank :- which contain water.
Temperature and steam control dial :-which regulate the
temperature by type of cloth.
 And wires .

Bimetallic Strip:- The thermostat in iron makes use of bimetallic

strip. This bimetallic strip is made up of two different types of
metals (Brass and iron) with different coefficient of expansion
bonded together. Therefore, in the presence of heat, the bimetallic
strip expands differently. The metallic strip is connected to a
contact spring through small pins.

The bimetallic strip remains in physical contact with the contact

point at moderate temperature. However, at a temperature of the
iron above a certain limit, the strip tends to bend towards the metal
with lower coefficient of expansion. At this point, the strip stops to
be physically connected to the contact point and current stops
flowing because of opening of the circuit.

Thermostat :- The thermostat helps in maintaining the temperature

within limits. But frequent making and breaking of circuit damages
the contact points and it may also result in interference with radio
reception. To avoid this, a capacitor of certain range is connected
across the two contact points.

Heating up of steam iron box:-

Heat is a type of energy that gets transferred between

objects when there is a difference in their temperature.
Electrically, an iron is simple; its electrical circuit consists of cord,
thermo- stat and heating element. Iron thermostats are of two
types: bimetal and base-expansion (see drawings on page 85). In
the first, a bimetal strip makes and breaks contacts as
temperature changes. In the second, a thin metal strip welded to
the base of the thermostat falls and rises to make and break
contacts as the base contracts and expands with temperature
changes.
In either type of iron thermostat, the spring tension on thermostat
elements is varied to give different temperature set- tings, and
the iron, once hot, will cycle on and off within a few degrees of the
desired temperature. Thermostat contact points may become
pitted or corroded in time, and
if an iron is dropped, insulators and bi-metals may break.
It is usually better to replace a thermo- stat than to repair it.
Thermostat calibration requires an iron tester; one may be
worthwhile only if you plan to check a number of irons. One tester
maker is Wage Manufacturing Co., 632 North Albany Ave.,
Chicago, Ill. 60612. Write for your local dealer's name.
Heating elements are chrome-nickel resistance wire, either a
replaceable ribbon element wound on a sheet of mica, or a round
wire element in a ceramic form cast into the iron's soleplate. The
cast-in type is expensive to replace when found defective; you're
better off buying a new iron than trying to replace such an
element. Heating-element. failures are opens (breaks), grounds
and shorts. A shorted element will usually blow itself apart when it
is turned on, in turn blowing the line fuse; afterward it will test as
open.
Steam irons operate two ways: with a tank that also serves as a
boiler or, in the flash type, with valving that drips water into a
steam chamber a recess in the hot soleplate-where it vaporizes. A
spray feature adds a pump to the hardware. Hard
water is the enemy of steam irons, as Ileave mineral deposits that
build up and clog valves and ports. Distilled water is rec
commended in its place.
When a steam-iron problem involves inaccessible parts,
disassembly should be done with caution because of the
complexity of valves and linkages. Get the manufacturer' service
 instructions, and take the iron apar only as far as necessary to
gain access to the faulty component.

The surface area of the sole plate is altered based on the

requirement. Power and heat supply are cut off when the surface
areas of single plates are not in use. This helps in less
consumption of electricity. This provision also helps in less
wastage of heat or supply during ironing. This design also focuses
on the reduction of weight of the iron box, so the base plate is
provided with the feature of lifting the left and right side sole
plates and only required an amount of area that can be utilized
with optimum power supply. The new single plate is detachable
and thus helps in reduction of weight. The material used is also
biodegradable.

Formation of steam in steam iron: -

Steam Is the gaseous form of water. It is formed when water is

heated above its boiling point (100oC). The formation of steam
takes place as discussed below:-
Consider 1 kg of water in a free to move piston and cylinder
arrangement as shown in the figure below.
Let the temperature of the water be 0o C and the pressure be 1
atm. The weights provided at the top of the piston help to
maintain the pressure within the cylinder as 1 qtm.

On heating, the temperature of the water increase. The specific

volume of the water also increases. This process continues till the
water reaches its boiling temperature Tor water starts boiling at
this boiling temperature which is 100°Cat atmospheric pressure.

On further rating the water starts evaporating. The process of

evaporation is gradual where part of the substance is liquid and
part is steam. The process water is converted to steam. During
this process there is no change in the temperature (i.e., it will not
increase above 100°C). There is increase in the specific volume of
the steam and hence the piston moves up. Though whole water is
converted into steam, the evaporation is incomplete because the
steam contains minute water particles in suspension with it. The
steam batt stage, which contain moisture in it, is called as the wet
steam.
On further beating the matter particles get evaporated to
complete the process of vaporization. The steam obtained at this
stage, which does not contain any moisture in it called as the dry
steam.
 On father heating, the temperature of the steam once again starts
increasing. The steam obtained at this stage is called as the
superheated steam. The process of obtaining the superheated
steam is called superheating and the temperature of the
superheated steam is called superheated temperature and is
denoted as T The temperature of the superheated steam goes on
increasing with the addition of heat.
Most irons are powered by electricity, which operates an electric
heater inside the iron. A steam iron contains a small water
container in which the water is boiled by a heating element
thereby producing steam. A steam iron thus provides heat and
steam at the same time.
A push-button on top of the iron opens a valve to direct the steam
through the holes under the iron on the cloth being ironed, When
steam is not required, it can be switched off. Similarly, the
operating temperature can be regulated to suit different types of
dress material to be ironed.
element to produce steam. Steam makes the clothes slightly
moist which adds to remove wrinkles. because moisture softens
the fibers in the material and thus make flexible.

Complete Mechanism of steam iron :-

steam iron is an appliance that is used to iron clothes and remove

wrinkles from the clothes. It works by heating up coil or heating
element and transfer to a metal plate and emitting steam through
small holes in the plate by boiling of water in water tank and
releasing steam.
History of steam iron: -
Though objects have been used for thousands of years to remove
wrinkles and/or press clothing, for much of that time only the
wealthy had their clothes so treated. Because the use of such
implements was hard and laborious, only the rich could afford to
employ people (usually slaves or servants) to do the work. In
about 400 B.C., Greeks used a goffering iron to create pleats on
linen robes. The goffering iron was a rolling pin-like round bar that
was heated before use.
Empire-era Romans had several tools similar to the modem iron.
One was a hand mangle. This flat metal paddle or mallet was used
to hit clothes. The wrinkles were re- moved by the beating.
Another implement was a prelun. This was made of wood andnot
unlike a wine press. Two flat heavy boards were put between a
turnscrew, also made of wood. Linen was placed between the
boards and the increasing pressure ap plied by the turnscrew
created pressure to press the fabric.
The ancient Chinese also had several primitive types of irons,
including the pan iron. The pan iron looked rather like a large ice
cream scoop. This iron had an open compartment with a flat
bottom and a handle. The compartment held hot coal or sand,
which heated the bottom of the pan iron. It was moved across
clothing to remove wrinkles.
By about the tenth century A.D., Vikings from Scandinavia had
early irons made of glass. The Vikings used what was called a
linen smoother to iron pleats. The mush-room-shaped smoother
was held near steam to warm up, and was rubbed across fabric.
What contemporary consumers would recognize as an iron first
appeared in Europe by the 1300s. The flatiron was comprised of a
flat piece of iron with a metal handle attached. To heat the iron, it
was held over or in a fire until it was hot. When a garment was
pressed with the flatiron, it was picked up with a padded holder. A
thin cloth was placed between the garment and the iron so that
soot would not be transferred from implement to the finished
garment. The flat- iron was used until it was too cool to do its job.
Many people owned several flatirons so they could heat one or
more while one was being used.
In approximately the fifteenth century, an improvement over the
flatiron was introduced. The hot box (also known as the box iron
or slug iron) was made of a hollow metal box with a smooth
bottom and a handle. Inside, hot coals, bricks, slugs (heated metal
inserts) or some other heating elements were placed. This
eliminated the need for an extra cloth between clothing and iron
because the iron did not get the clothes dirty. Both the flatiron
and hot box were used for several hundred years.
Many innovations in iron technology came in the nineteenth
century. When cast iron was invented in the early part of the nine-
tenth century, some of the problems with flatirons were solved.
With the advent of cast iron stoves, flatirons could be heated on
top of them, which was much cleaner than a fire. By the 1820s,
cast iron was also used to make flatirons. These irons were called
sad irons because they were heavy, weighing about 15 lb (5.6 kg),
and hard to move.
Like flatirons, sad irons were heated on the stovetop, but they
sometimes heated un evenly. The handle also heated up, which
posed problems for users. American Mary Potts solved these
predicaments in 1870. She made a cardboard base and filled it
with plaster of Paris. This was placed around the iron's body and
kept it cooler for more even heating. Potts also devised a
detachable wooden handle that was spring loaded for
the sad iron. Because wood does not hold heat in the same way
that iron does, the per- son using the iron would not be burned.
After gas became available in American homes in the late 1800s,
gas irons came into existence. The earliest were patented in 1874.
Homes had individual gas lines into them, and the gas iron was
hooked up to the gas line by a pipe. The iron contained a burner
to which the gas flowed. When the burner was lit with a match,
the iron heated up. The iron was very hot and gas some- times
leaked, but the gas irons were lighter than sad irons. Other fueled
irons soon followed. These irons were heated with oil, gasoline,
paraffin, and other fuels.
The electric iron was invented in the 1880s when electricity
became widely available in homes. The first electric iron was
patented by Henry W. Seeley in 1882. His iron was hooked up to
an electrical source by detach- able wires. The electricity
stimulated the iron's internal coils. But Seeley's iron, like many
early electric irons, did not have electric cords. The irons were
heated on a stand. One big problem with Seeley's iron was that it
heated very slowly on the stand, and cooled quickly while in use.
This iron had to be reheated frequently.
By the turn of the century, iron technology had progressed
considerably and irons be- came more common in American house
holds. In 1903, irons with electric cords straight attached to the
iron were being sold. Earl Richardson invented a sole plate (the
bottom part of the iron that is made of metal and does the actual
pressing) that improved how and where sole plates were heated
for better ironing. His iron had more heat in the tip than in the
center and was known as the Hotpoint.
In the 1920s, Joseph Myers improved the iron and cord by adding
an automatic heat control made of pure silver. Thermostats soon
became a standard feature. The first cordless irons were
introduced in 1922. though they did not catch on. (The first
successful cordless irons were sold in 1984).
In 1926, the steam iron was introduced by the Ekdec Company.
Steam made it easier to smooth dry stiff fabrics. Previously the
user sprinkled water on dry clothing, or clothing had to be ironed
 when damp. The steam irons employ a water tank that allows
heated water vapor to be created and applied through small holes
on the sole plate. Steam irons did not become popular until the
1940s.
Edward Schreyer conquered the problem of rusting sole plates in
1938. He developed an aluminum alloy that would not rust or
leak. Irons that could vary between steam or dry were introduced
in the 1950s. The first iron with automatic shut off was introduced
in 1984.
Contemporary irons have nonstick coating on the sole plate, an
innovation that was introduced in 1995. Most featured bodies
made of plastic and more holes on the sole plate to allow steam to
come through. A whip holds the cord out of the way during use. In
1996, about 13-14 million irons with a variety of features were
sold in the United States.

The manufacturing process:-

First, each sub-assembly of the iron is produced, most often on
separate, automated production lines. Then the iron is assembled.
Sole plate
1) The sole plate is cast of molten aluminum. Part of the mold
creates the holes that are essential in a steam iron. Heated
metal is inserted into a mold under pressure, cooled, and
released.
2)The cooled sole plate is treated in one of three ways. It is
polished, coated with a non-stick PTFE material, or covered with
another metal. Such metals include stainless steel.
To complete one or more of these processes, the sole plates are
put on a large automated carousel, which rotates through each
step.
3) To polish the plate, an automated belt 3 sander uses hands of
abrasive to polish and buff the plate. The finish required deter
mines which grade of abrasive is used.
4) An automated spray-painting machine 4 applies non-stick
coating. After application, the sole plate is baked in an automated
industrial process.
5) To coat with another metal, the external 5 metal cover is
created by an automated stamp press. The resulting cover is
either pressed or riveted onto the sole plate, through a smaller
machine press.
Thermostat
6) In an is cast injection mold, a small metal post in cast.
7) A spring is mounted onto the metal post. 7 This spring is a
bimetallic switch made of two different metals with divergent
linear thermal coefficients bonded together. The spring actually
controls the iron's temperature.
8) Power contacts are attached to 8 the end of the spring, which
let the electricity through so the iron can be heated. This whole
process is generally automated.
Water tank
9) In a two-part injection mold, heated plastic is inserted to make
upper and lower sections of the tank. Several openings on the
tank are created as part of the mold.
10) The mold is put under pressure, cooled, and released as a
one-part tank.
11) Other parts for the tank (pump, inter nal chamber, piston,
buttons, and other parts) are created by similar injection molding
processes.
12) On an automated assembly line, the parts are put together,
with each other parts put onto the water tank.
Housing
13) In an injection mold, heated plastic is inserted into a mold
under pressure, cooled, and released.
Handle
14) In an injection mold, heated plastic is 14 inserted into a mold
under pressure. cooled, and released.
Assembly
When all the parts are manufactured, the iron is assembled on an
automated assembly line.
15 The sole plate is the first part on the assembly line. The
thermostat is cither screwed onto the plate, or welded to the plate
by a robot.
16) To the sole plate-thermostat sabassembly, the water tank is
put in place. It is secured on an automated line with screws or
other industrial fasteners.
17 The handle and body are attached over the sole plate,
thermostat and water tank, and fixed by screws. Sometimes this
process is automated, but it also can be done manually.
18) The electrical cord is the last piece to be added. Sometimes
this process is automated, but it also can be done manually.
19) After an automated testing process, the irons are inspected by
hand.
20) Completed irons are packed into individual boxes with
instructions and other documents by hand. (For some companies,
this is an automated process.)
21) the individual boxes are placed in shipping cortons or master
packs for distribution to warehouse.