ABSTRACT:
Background, Objectives: For product design, metal materials play an important role to not only make products be luxurious but increase customers' trust in products due to materials. The usage of metal materials in the industry varies much according to the characteristics of materials. The fusion of the characteristics of materials and design enhance performance and functions to help improve appearance quality and functions of the product. Methods/Statistical analysis: This study focuses on the research of aluminum suited for refrigerator components in terms of thermal conductivity, processing, weight, etc. by investigating and analyzing such various metal materials. Chapter 1 explained about the purpose of the study. Chapter 2 investigated and analyzed representative metal materials. Chapter 3 discussed about various processing methods of aluminum among metal materials. Chapter 4 surveyed change in refrigerator design trends and application cases of aluminum. Chapter 5 created a working mock-up, 3D design and idea sketch about refrigerator' shape and structure using aluminum. And Chapter 6 described about the results of the study and the direction of the future research. Findings: The study researched a method to increase design quality and cooling efficiency, the most important element in refrigerator, in case of effectively using the strength of aluminum in refrigerator. In addition, it aims to suggest a structural solution to assembling between components according to the characteristics of aluminum. Improvements/Applications: The study showed various usage is possible according to various metal materials and materials can improve functions and appearance quality of products. The future study will research and discover materials with various strengths besides aluminum and aim to expand their application scope.