The last designs il post on here..i bet everyone is tired of them now.

Automatic Washer - The world's coolest Washing Machines, Dryers and Dishwashers

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My Design:

I am currently reading books ready to do an electronics project to a washing machine, the project is in its early stage and when i have finishd, i hope to be able to clone a few of the PCB's i would have made so i can manufacture a few machines to allow local people to rent and trial them and give back reviews and feedback on how the unit could be improved. I am currently lookig out for a host machine, i wuld like to find a hotpoint wm63!
 
Another IMHO

Henry,

With the advent of high resolution LCD displays, why would you use a simple two digit LED display?

Why not actually have the display say what the cycle is?

ie. Instead of "P0" it would say, "Select Cycle."

All of the rest of the programs could be selected with a knob and the full text of the cycle would be displayed on the display, rather than a cryptic "P4" code.

What makes sense to you anyway? Imagine if the user lost the instruction manual.
 
over here a user looks at the manual for all of 2 minutes and then uses the machine...
if the user knows how to use the machine they will not need the reference the manual for every single thing...
 
Manuals

Hey Ariston.

With Henry's diagram above, take a 3 second look at it and then switch to another browser page. Now tell me what "P4" means. Now, come back to it an hour later without looking and tell me what "P6" means.

I guarantee you won't remember, unless you have a great memory.

Any machine, regardless of whatever it is, should be designed so that you wouldn't ever have to look at the manual or refer to an instruction card or "Cheat Sheet".

It's fortunate that a lot of Euro-style machines actually have a guide which is located on the soap dispenser, but this is a major shortcoming IMHO.

With modern technology, I don't see any reason why a machine can't be designed in such a way where anyone can take a look at it and just use it without having to memorize or learn anything.

Here's the control panel to my old GE front loader.

So, imagine for example, you needed to wash something with these settings:

Extra Large Load
Delicate Wash Speed, Normal Spin Speed
Warm Wash Temperature, Cold Rinse Temperature
Extended Spin
Extra Length Permanent Press Cycle

Imagine that you flew from Dublin to my City, Calgary.. You are standing in front of this machine for the very first time in your life and I gave you the instructions above.

I'll bet you a dinner that you not only will know exactly what to do to get this machine started, but there wasn't any need to read the manual. :)

qualin++12-17-2011-00-55-6.jpg
 
Are you sure that's a FL?

Hi Qualin... that machine in the picture would be a total novelty to me but I guess I would figure out how to use it. It's a TL though, not a FL as you suggested... isn't it?

I can see there are quite a few dials though and I don't quite appreciate the fact that the 'options' on this machine are managed in such a way too... so, my understanding is that if you select one option you're unable to select another one at the same time. Say, for example, you wanted the second rinse as well as an extended spin.

I must admit that my machine would take some figuring out before one can use it properly. As a matter of fact, I had a few lodgers in the past running into the wrong settings while doing their laundry and, on different occasions, I had to tell them which were the most appropriate cycles to use for whatever load of clothes they had.

You can see the programme selector below, which is the most misleading, there are two more dials, one for temperature and one for spin speed, but these are quite self explanatory. The options are represented by 5 buttons and they can all be combined giving you alternative wash cycles, however... without reading the manual... or rather... without having used the machine for years, you wouldn't know what some of these combinations actually do as they're not even mentioned in the booklet.

The most misleading programme is the one which says 'Colour Mix', my lodgers thought this cycle would have been ideal for their everyday bright/dark colour garments... but there's the rub! This programme on most European machines is known as 'AA40' (even on the updated version of this very machine) which consists of an extended wash phase with higher water level and it's supposed to deliver the same results of a wash cycle carried out at a temperature of 60 degrees, whilst maintaining energy consumption low.

As it's a 'Warm' rather than 'Hot' wash cycle, the user can wash different colours together without having them run into each other... hence the wording 'Colour Mix'. Still, such a long programme is mere frustration for some1 who wants to wash their everyday darks... and it's not meant for dark colour-run items as one could easily be led into believing :-P

B.t.w. congratulations to you all for your gorgeous designs!

haxisfan++12-17-2011-03-19-3.jpg
 
Haxisfan

I agree, it looks so confusing!

And warm/cold and the other temperatures, should they not give a temperature like 60?

What is the SPEED dial for, the spin speed?

The FL's we have are much easier.

Heres my latest design, please request if you wish :)

Jacob
 
Haxisfan,

Finally, you have helped me find out what the AA40 option does on my Zanussi, as the manual does not explain it very well. My Zanussi FJD1266W, I think, is very hard to use for people who are new to use a washing machine, as it uses buttons instead of knobs. What I find frustrating is that you cannot have the prewash on the quick cycle, which I mainly use as most of my clothes are only slightly soiled and I can wash 6kg on the quick cycle. On the positive side, I like the way there are no unnecessary cycles, such as shoes or a special cycle for jeans, because the PCB does all of the work. The time display on the Zanussi is so inaccurate; it was on 1 minute for 20 minutes last night (although, because the drain pump and bearings are gone, it was doing a balancing act.)

jetsystem1200++12-17-2011-09-50-51.jpg
 
To Haxifan

I thought I'd show off the control panel to my top loader because they're not as common in Europe and thereby completely more alien.. so it would result in having one think a bit more carefully about one using it.

The Dial for the Options is something I did find annoying, but it does show off a very common design flaw. I can't run an extended spin and extra rinse at the same time, which is annoying. It's the one thing about this machine that really bothered me. There's no reason why they couldn't have put in a few buttons or something with a cancel button, like something you'd find on a dishwasher.

That program dial makes a lot of sense to me, but like you said, there are some "Gotchas" involved.

Of course, there are a few things which are downright intuitive and others which wouldn't be unless one read the manual. It's a sign of good design when I can take one look at that and know exactly what to use. :)
 
To Hotpoint Fan

The Speed dial is to control the agitator speed and the spin speed.

This is a 4 speed machine which is kind of rare.

What does "AA40" even stand for? I know the 40 part is temperature..

To Jetsystem1200,

That control panel is intuitive. (Except for the AA40 part, but if I just ignored it, I could still get my washing done.) Going from left to right .. Turn the machine on... Select the Fabric, then the temperature, then the spin speed, The wash choice (What the heck does the "Outdoor Sports" selection do?) then options, select delay start if applicable then hit start.. Couldn't be any easier.
 
Qualin,

The Night Wash option is a rinse hold, the Outdoor Sports option is a 30 minute soak, and the Super Rinse button adds more water in the rinses plus an extra rinse.
 
AA40

Hi Qualin, the 'AA40' summarizes the energy label this type of wash falls into, therefore 'A' for the energy consumption and 'A' for wash result. There should be a third letter to indicate the efficiency of the spin cycle, as conventionally seen on the Euro Energy Consumption Labelling Scheme for washing machines but this information is omitted as it could not possibly be referred with by another 'A'... if anything, it would be 'B' or even 'C'. The reason being that this programme must cater for mixed fabrics and it's not allowed to carry out a spin cycle at full speed and length.

I The parameters for this cycle (length, water level, spin speed, etc) may vary from washer to washer, but its main purpose is to reduce the electricity consumption (hence lowish temperature) and elongate the wash time to extensively.

Hi Jetsystem1200, it's perfectly normal for a washer not being able to work out the time remaining accurately when an out of balance situation occurs. That control panel of yours is rather intuitive as Qualin suggested and looks quite futuristic too ;-)

Still, as you said, I wouldn't be too keen on the 'Prewash' compromise scenario you described... it would have been much better if it could be selected on its own and added to whatever other option you might have selected. I guess the idea is that you shouldn't be needing a prewash on a quick cycle, although I share your thoughts on this one, e.g. I often prewash my darks on short cycles.

Laterz :-)
 
Anyone wishing to design and then build a new washing machine should virtually copy/clone the Miele W1065 with it's mechanical controls.
 
Mark

There's virtually no point! On mechanical style washing machines the timers were one of the killers! Also little kids would fiddle and accidentally advance the cycle, and also people like to know how long is left of a wash cycle and a little screen is the best! OK not all modern UK machines have screens, but just about any over the £280 mark do. Not saying Miele's are bad in any way...:P

Jacob
 
I disagree Jacob...

... I think that a decent mechanical timer machine would last better than the electronic ones, and actually, I'd quite like a newer version of older Miele/AEG/etc machines where you select starting point, temperature, options on a couple of dials and then buttons. I would rather have that then an all singing all dancing display, actually :)
 
On mechanical style washing machines the timers were one of

That may be the case, but in the same light, more PCB failures kill more washers these days than anything else. Every Hotpoint or Indesit I know that's died in the last year was down to PCB failure. More mechanical timer machines survived 10 years plus than 90% of digitally controlled machines.
 
Electronic vs Mechanical Timers

That's an argument in itself.. Mechanical vs Electronic.

There is considerably more control with a mechanical timer as opposed to an electronic timer. Then again, that defeats the purpose of an automatic washer. :)

I've seen electronic timers last 20 years and longer. It all depends on the quality of the electronic components inside of the machine and whether or not the electronics were designed with the humidity, vibration, etc in mind.

Strangely enough, I've only seen mechanical controls on very very cheap machines.

Thanks for the clarification on those few things Haxisfan.
 
Designs

Great designs there boys , keep thinking out all of the options, I love the Concept Washer Spinner, Washer & Tumble Dryer, H-Ax meets V-Drum......

Mechanical V Electronic, like anything if its a goog timer its great it its a good PCB its great...nowthen, mechanical timers can be good for user selection, Time Temp Aditation & Spin Speed....BUT what about the variables

Over Sudsing
Out Of Balance Spin
Not Enough Water on Absorbent Loads
Clothes not clean on selected wash time
Extra Rinse Required
Higher temp than fabric can take
Higher Spin than fabric can take, ie woollens......etc etc
Washer goes faulty, ie motor burn out

This is where the beauty of the variables built into the computer pcb board come into play, and the washer is "Totally Automatic^, again a board is only as good as whats programmed, but you dotta admit todays washers offer do more than selecting 1 - 7 or C - J....

Bring back the ITCL codes, 9 fixed programmes that you just select and go....

I vote 1, 2, 5 & 7......Whats your vote

chestermikeuk++12-19-2011-03-55-4.jpg
 
Am I the only north american here who loves euro controls on

The 'strange' symbols on euro machines really are world wide fabric care symbols. Indeed, one US organization discusses them right here: http://www.cleaninginstitute.org/clean_living/your_guide_to_fabric_care_symbols.aspx (also in attached link).

What in the US we aren't used to is real control over using appliances. One of the things I am looking forward to, in returning to using an Asko, is full control over temperature, spin speed, programme, etc. on the washer. (Dryers are fundamentally more boring).

I, personally, like the Euro layouts so keep it on :) I wouldn't mind the ability for even more control, like an ipad app or a computer app where you could talk to the machine via wifi and set it up :).

Now here's another thought: too bad the PCB couldn't be mounted on the wall and cabled over to the machine! Then all the electronics would be away from the humidity and on a non-moving wall!

http://www.cleaninginstitute.org/clean_living/your_guide_to_fabric_care_symbols.aspx
 
To Hunter

I like that idea.. I think one way they did that was to make washers with a rear control panel, so all the bits which are sensitive to humidity, etc were away from the rest of the machine.

I have some clothing garments which have Chinese clothing symbols on them which are very different than the normal standard.

To Tolivac:

Most power bars these days have surge protectors on them. GE sells power bars which stop working if they get hit with a lightening strike and can't surge protect anymore. It sounds stupid to need a surge protector for a washing machine, but it's one way of ensuring the electronics don't go belly up.

Hopefully, the manufacturer at least put in some kind of protection to prevent the machine from being killed by power surges, like using a linear power supply instead of a switching one to drive the electronics.
 
To Chestermike

What does 'ITCL' stand for?

That program guide looks like a useability nightmare. I'd have to read that guide every time I wanted to use the machine. I can see how this would have been a common thing back in the early 80's since single digit LED displays were really the only thing out there.

Good point on the variables...

> Over Sudsing

I'm really not sure how machines detect this condition. All I know is that when machines do detect it, they usually run one or two high level rinses. Perhaps this is detected by an electric eye near the pump hose and on a spin condition? North American machines just display "SUDS" and run extra normal rinse cycles.

> Out Of Balance Spin

Easily detectable by an accelerometer or microswitch. When drum > 200 RPM and switch is triggered, the machine goes into a rebalancing mode, spinning the drum at about 80 RPM (?) to rebalance. If a rebalance doesn't work after the second try, spin at a reduced speed.

> Not Enough Water on Absorbent Loads

That's easy. When the pressure switch goes below a certain threshold, start a fill again until the pressure switch registers full.

> Clothes not clean on selected wash time

How would you detect this? By the clarity of the rinse water?

> Extra Rinse Required

This kind of goes back to the oversudsing condition doesn't it? Although, there could be a switch to force this condition.

> Higher temp than fabric can take

How would you determine this? I guess this is a usability error. For example, selecting a "95 C Cottons" cycle while washing Synthetics, there really wouldn't be any way to know.. Unless maybe the washer could detect excess lint?

> Higher Spin than fabric can take, ie woollens......etc etc

That kind of goes back to usability again.

> Washer goes faulty, ie motor burn out

I would think most modern washers would have an over temperature protection on the motor to keep it from catching on fire. :-)
 
Care Symbols

All machine washable clothing usually have a tag attached to them which states the correct procedure for laundering etc....many of these are identified and certificated by governing bodies conforming to ITLC (Qualin, my fingers typed the above too quickly..lol) International Textile Laundry Codes, we also use a local HLCC (Home Laundry Consultative Council) coding as well....

So all we should really be doing is checking all those tags, putting them together and selecting the corresponding programme on the washing machine control panel.

Now those codes on the washer panel fascia you refer to as "Usability Nightmare", what part of USABILITY dont you understand about that??

You simply take all you white clothing and select the programme that says WHITE COTTONS...on the Servis machines which invented the first worlds computerised machines back in 1976, thats all you needed to do, a two digit display showed you what programme you had selected, the machine was programmed for the correct Time Temp Agitation & Spin..

Thats why I stated about codes 1, 2, 5, & 7 as the codes I always used
1 - Whites Cottons 95d
2, Coloured Cottons 60d
5 - Coloured Cottons 40d
7 - Woollens 40d

Is that not simpler for most people who do laundry rather than guessing what you would have to do with your panel!!!

Todays machines have gotten more complicated, most people when asked would want to go back to the above (I take us here out of that equation before breakfast is thrown as fingers start typing furiously)...

http://www.care-labelling.co.uk/whatsymbolsmean.html
 
Hi Chester. This is IMHO, of course.

In 1976, I can see how technology limited the use of displays to a double digit LED, so this kind of thing was absolutely necessary.

However, with modern technology and the modernization of LED and LCD displays, I don't see any reason for "guides" to be on the machine anymore when a display can make it very descriptive.

Heck, An excellent example would be, rather than displaying "P1" for program one, you could actually show the graphic for the 95 C wash and then have the wording below it say "Whites Cottons Linens"

No guide required, just turn the knob and push the start button.

Perhaps my previous comment was a little too strong. I believe that technology should make our lives easier, not more complex.
 
Please note-not all outlet bars have surge protection-and if it does---may not be sensitive enough to save a board.And you generally don't plug your washer,dishwasher,into the outlet bar.Manufactuers of equipment need to provide better surge protection in their devices.Linear supplies vs switching ones-its to the point switching wins---cost,and energy efficiency.Surge protection even needs to be provided at the COMPONENT level on the circuit boards-this can be done-but it is expensive.And switching supplies can have an isolated transformer-it is operating at an ultrasonic frequency rather than 50-60Hz power-makes the transformer MUCH smaller-less copper and iron.Isolation,filtering sure helps for the boards-and the surge protection devices.But not all appliance builders provide this---cost-and they want to you have to have boards replaced.
 

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