Freezer and Ice Blocks
Water in, ice out — the lowest-friction block in the game and the machine that makes it.
What the Freezer is
The Freezer is one of the production machines added with Drilling Thunder. It is not a storage fridge: you feed it water and it manufactures Ice Blocks — about 20 blocks per batch, with a batch taking roughly a minute. Axolot introduced it in Devblog #26 alongside the Turret Seat and Sawbot, and it shipped with 1.0.
Water is easy to supply with a vacuum pump setup or hand-carried containers; the machine consumes the input and ejects finished blocks.
Why ice matters: friction
The Ice Block is the lowest-friction block in the game — the Mechanic slides on top of it instead of gripping. That single property drives every practical use:
- Slides. Combine ice with slants and wedges for player slides between base levels — faster than stairs, no ladder needed going down.
- Transport lines. Ice channels let crates and physics objects glide with a small push, a cheap alternative to powered conveyors for short runs. Pair with controllers and sensors for gated drops.
- Launch ramps. A vehicle rolling onto ice keeps momentum with almost no loss — useful for jump ramps and speed sections in Challenge Mode-style builds.
- Trap floors. In multiplayer, an ice patch at a base entrance makes raiding bots and careless friends overshoot — see defensive base layouts.
Production tips
- Run the Freezer next to your water source so refills are a walk, not a drive.
- Ice batches are hands-off: queue water, do a farming cycle, come back to a full output.
- Ice is a building block, not a food or cooling ingredient — it does not interact with the Cookbot or hunger system.
Related pages
Watch the community walkthrough for this guide:
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common questions.
How do I make Ice Blocks?
Place a Freezer, supply it with water, and wait about a minute per batch. Each batch produces roughly 20 Ice Blocks.
Is ice used for cooking or keeping food fresh?
No. In Scrap Mechanic 1.0 the Ice Block is purely a low-friction building block. There is no food-spoilage or cooling system attached to it.
What is the best use for ice?
Anything that benefits from sliding: player slides with slanted sections, low-cost transport channels for crates, launch ramps that preserve vehicle momentum, and slippery defensive floors.