DONE BY:ANUBHUTI GARG (10BIT0181)SAMRIDHI (10BIT0217)

ASSIGNMENT

WASHING MACHINES

History

Bosch Nexxt Premium Washer Control Panel

Clothes washer technology developed as a way to reduce the drudgery of the scrubbing and rubbing process by providing an open basin or sealed container with paddles or fingers to automatically agitate the clothing. The earliest machines were hand-operated. As electricity was not commonly available until at least 1930, some early machines were operated by a low-speed single-cylinder gasoline engine. By the mid-1850s steam-driven commercial laundry machinery was on sale in the USA and Great Britain. Technological advances in machinery for commercial and institutional laundries proceeded faster than domestic washer design for several decades, especially in the UK. In the US there was more emphasis on developing machines for washing at home, as well as machines for the commercial laundry services which were widely used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

While the earliest machines were constructed from wood, later machines made of metal permitted a fire to burn below the washtub, to keep the water warm throughout the day's washing.

To help reduce the labour of removal of soap and water from the clothing, the wringer/mangle was developed, which uses two rollers under spring tension to squeeze water out of clothing and household linen. Each item would be fed through the wringer separately. The first wringers were hand-operated, but were eventually included as a powered attachment above the washer tub.

The modern process of water removal by spinning did not come into use until electric motors were developed. Spinning requires a constant high-speed power source, and was originally done in a separate device known as an extractor. A load of washed clothing would be transferred from the wash tub to the extractor basket, and the water spun out.

What is now referred to as an automatic washer was at one time referred to as a washer/extractor, which combines the features of these two devices into a single machine, plus the ability to fill and drain water by itself.

It is possible to take this a step further, to also merge the automatic washing machine and clothes dryer into a single device, but this is generally uncommon because the drying process tends to use much more energy than using two separate devices; a combined washer/dryer not only must dry the clothing, but also need to dry out the wash chamber itself.

Milestones

19th-century Metropolitan washing machine

A vintage German model

Washer design improved during the 1930s. The mechanism was enclosed within a cabinet, and more attention was paid to electrical safety. Spin dryers were introduced to replace the dangerous power wringers of the day.

Early automatic washing machines were usually connected to the water supply via temporary slip-on connectors to the sink taps. Later, permanent connections to both the hot and cold water supplies became the norm. Most modern front-loading European machines now only have a cold water connection (i.e. cold fill) and rely completely on electric heaters to raise the water temperature.

Several manufacturers even produced semi-automatic machines, where the user had to intervene at one or two points in the wash cycle. A common semi-automatic type included 2 tubs: one with an agitator or impeller for washing and/or rinsing; another, smaller, tub for water extraction or centrifugal rinsing.

One early form of automatic washing machine manufactured by Hoover used cartridges to program different wash cycles. This system, called the Keymatic, used plastic cartridges with key-like slots and ridges around the edges. The cartridge was inserted into a slot on the machine and a mechanical reader operated the machine accordingly. The system did not commercially succeed because it offered no real advantage over the more conventional program dial.

A 1950s model

In early automatic washing machines, any changes in impeller/drum speed were achieved by mechanical means or by a rheostat on the motor power supply. However, since the 1970s electronic control of motor speed has become a common feature on the more expensive models.

In the early 1990s, upmarket machines incorporated microcontrollers for the timing process. Washing machines are a classic application for fuzzy logic .

In 1998, New Zealand based company Fisher &Paykel introduced its SmartDrive washing machine line in the US. This washing machine uses a computer-controlled system to determine certain factors such as load size and automatically adjusts the wash cycle to match. It also used a mixed system of washing, first with the "Eco-Active" wash, using a low level of recirculated water being sprayed on the load followed by a more traditional style wash. Other variations include the Intuitive Eco, which can sense the water level and type of fabric in the wash load, and the agitatorlessAquaSmart line.

In 2001, Whirlpool Corporation introduced the Calypso, the first vertical-axis high efficiency washing machine to be top-loading. A washplate in the bottom of the tub nutated to bounce, shake, and toss the laundry around. As this happened, water containing detergent was sprayed on to the laundry. The machine proved to be good at cleaning but gained a bad reputation due to frequent breakdowns and destruction of laundry and the washer was recalled with a class-action lawsuit and pulled off the market.

In 2003, Maytag introduced their top-loading Neptune washer. The machine would fill with only a small amount of water and the two washplates would tumble the load within it, mimicking the action of a front-loading washer in a vertical axis design.

In 2008, the University of Leeds created a concept washing machine that uses only a cup (less than 300ml) of water to carry out a full wash. The machine leaves clothes virtually dry, and uses less than 2 per cent of the water and energy otherwise used by a conventional machine, but requires 20 kg of re-usable plastic chips in each load. As such, it could save billions of litres of water each year.

Features available in most modern consumer washing machines:

Predefined programs for different laundry types Variable temperatures including cold wash Rotation speed settings Delayed execution: a timer to delay the start of the laundry cycle

Additionally some of the modern machines feature:

Child lock Time remaining indication Steam

Internet –Mobile Phone Monitoring Function of LG Washing Machine

SOME IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS1797 Scrub boards.

 Early 1800s First clothes dryers; hand-powered.

 1851 First, hand-powered, washing machine with a drum, invented by James

King. 

1861 First clothes wringer added to the washing machine. 

1874 William Blackstone built his first hand-driven wooden washing machine. The company he founded still produces and sells washing machines to this day, out of their New York headquarters. 

1858 First rotary washing machine, invented by Hamilton Smith. 

Early 1900s Wooden wash tubs are replaced by metal tubs. 

1907 Maytag Corporation began manufacturing a wooden-tub washing machine with a flywheel, still manually operated with a rotary handle. 

1922 Maytag Corporation introduces the agitator system for moving the water around in the drum, rather than dragging the fabrics around in the water. 

1908 First electric-powered washing machine is invented by Alva J. Fisher. 

1911 Whirlpool Corporation, then called the Upton Machine Co. is founded in St. Joseph, Michigan and starts producing electric motor-driven

wringer washers. 

1915 The first electrical clothes dryers appear. 

1930s John W. Chamberlain of Bendix Aviation Corporation invents a machine that can wash, rinse, and extract water from clothes in a single operation. 

1947 The first top-loading automatic washing machines are introduced by the forerunner of the Whirlpool Corporation. 

1951 The first automatic washing machines are made in Europe. The first computer-controlled automatic washing machines appear. 

1950 Many technological advances follow. Among hundreds of systems tested, only two washing systems survive until this day: the agitator system and the tumbling system. Wash cycles and products are developed for new fabrics and a greater range of wash conditions.

1960s Pre-wash treatments and stain removers. Biological washing powders containing enzymes.

1970s Fabric conditioners (softeners) for the wash cycle. All-purpose products, such as washing and conditioning all-in-one.

1980s Low-temperature laundry detergents. Dishwasher liquid. Concentrated laundry powders.

1990s Highly concentrated powder and liquid detergents. Concentrated fabric conditioners. Biodegradable fabric conditioners. Dishwasher gels. Refillable containers for laundry products. Colour-safe bleach. Colorguard technology.

2000 and beyond Single dose laundry detergent tablets (Liquitabs as well as powder tablets). Single dose dishwasher tablets (All-in-one). “Do it yourself” dry-cleaning sheets for use in the dryer. Gradual further compaction of liquid and powder detergents.

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SO.........

The washing machines available today are of all kinds like semi automatic, fully automatic with top load, fully automatic with front load, etc. They are designed and programmed in such a way as to cater to almost all the needs of the user. But there are also some features that can be added to the coming models to make them better and more flexible.

1.Sometimes due to overloading of the washing drum, the drum is damaged. In order to prevent this the machine should be able to detect the overloading. It can be programmed to first measure the weight of the clothes put in along with the water, as every machine has a weight limit. It will increase the lifetime of the machine.

2.The machine can be programmed to detect the type of clothes put in and change the settings likewise.