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

[arbilab]

It is well possible to determine load size during tumble, the same way(s) as balance is electronically detected in distribution and spin. There are short-range (1/3 revolution) variations in tach error and motor current (one drives the other). With no/light/balanced load the variations are negligible.

Preferable to use an intelligent system that looks beyond just 1/3 revolution and identifes patterns. Helps avoid annoying false positives. Not all designs are that elegant.

There are also gyro accelerometers that cost like a dollar apiece. I don't know which designs use which solutions.

 

[glenfieldmathk1]

Very Nice Ariston4life & Hotpointfan

Good designs there! I like them.
So are you guys using Google sketchup?
I have used Sketchup and I am impressed, though not sure how to get text yet, so I printed out mine and then hand drawn on some of the features, you can see in the picture. Any help about getting text I would be great full!

Thanks

(photo - Hotpoint Aquarius-Ultima 'By Matosch') More coming to the Matosch site soon!

 

[hotpointfan]

Yep!

Type in Hotpoint into Google Sketchup warehouse and the models made by ' Jacob ' are mine

 

[ariston4life]

i dont use sketchup, i use microsoft paint

 

[Jsneaker]

Simplicity

I just wish all of these computer-controlled top and front-loading HE automatics would never have been built! Why did older machines last quite a few years, a "lifetime" if cared-for properly? Everything "Laundry" today is made so complicated and it's built-in confusion and obsolescence that is apparent. Then follows dissatisfaction... I hope I live long enough to see how long my Samsung lasts. Also, bring back phosphates and NTA! Screw "Greenies"!

 

[supermaticjames]

Bring back 80's electronics and timer controls!

 

[MrX]

Ariston4Life,

You should give Google Sketch-up a try. It's quite a nice, free app for producing 3D models.
If you're interested in getting into design, or maybe even doing a design course in university, it's actually well worth playing around with some of these packages. (Just type Google Sketch up into Google and you'll get a link !)

If you want to get really fancy and move into 3D animation : I'd suggest trying Blender. It's open source 3D animation software www.blender.org

 

[sudsmaster]

I can see a new game for smart phones....

Angry Washing Machines...

;-)

 

[hotpointfan]

This is a request for Chris (aquarius8000)

It is a spin dryer/tumble dryer with a washing attachment.

Jacob

 

[ariston4life]

intresting concept jacob i like it....

 

[hotpointfan]

ariston4life...

Yeah, thanks! I think washerdryers are flawed, you can't wash one load, and dry another at the same time!

Jacob

 

[henrypeter21]

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!

 

[henrypeter21]

The Fascer

I hope something like this would be the end product.

 

[qualin]

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.

 

[ariston4life]

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...

 

[qualin]

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.

 

[haxisfan]

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

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

 

[hotpointfan]

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

 

[jetsystem1200]

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.)

 

[qualin]

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.