Why are metals smelted into the ingot shape? Would it not be better to just make then into cubes, so they would stack better?

Question

Why are metals smelted into the ingot shape? Would it not be better to just make then into cubes, so they would stack better?

In: Engineering

Answer 1

I work in a aluminum mill where the ingots are cast in a shape that makes them easier to roll on the hotmill. Our ingots are cast into 30,000 pound rectangles. I have also seen food cooked on sidewall furnaces and full breakfast cooked on top of a fresh cast ingot. Night shift is always the stuff of legends in any facility.