Washing Machine

Mechanical washing machines appeared in the early 1800s, although they were all hand-powered.
Early models cleaned clothes by rubbing them, while later models cleaned clothes by moving them
through water. Steam-powered commercial washers appeared in the 1850s, but home washing
machines remained entirely hand-powered until the early 1900s, when several companies started
making electric machines. The Automatic Electric Washer Company and Hurley Machine
Corporation both began selling electric washers in 1907, while Maytag offered an electric wringer
washer in 1911. In 1947, Bendix offered the first fully automatic washing machine, and by 1953
spin-dry machines overtook the wringer types in popularity.
The last wringer washer manufactured in the United States was made in June of 1990 at Speed
Queen's plant in Ripon, Wisconsin. The major U.S. manufacturers today are General Electric,
Maytag (Montgomery Ward), Speed Queen (Amana and Montgomery Ward), Whirlpool
(Kenmore), and White Consolidated (Frigidaire and Westinghouse).
The washing machine operates by a motor, which is connected to the agitator through a unit called
a transmission. The motor and transmission are near the bottom of the machine, while the agitator
extends up through the middle of the machine. The transmission is similar to the transmission in
your automobile in that it changes the speed and direction of the agitator. In one direction (agitate),
the transmission changes the rotation of the agitator and spin tub—the inside tub with small holes
in it—into a back-and-forth motion. When the motor is reversed by the controls (spin), the
transmission locks up and the agitator, transmission, and spin tub all rotate as a unit. Without the
transmission changing the speed or direction, the unit uses centrifugal force to remove as much
water from the clothes as possible. The motor is also connected to a pump. When the motor is
moving in the spin direction, the pump removes the water from the tub and discards it through the
drain pipe.
Let us see the important parts of the washing machine; this will also help us understand the working
of the washing machine.
1) Water inlet control valve: Near the water inlet point of the washing there is water inlet control
valve. When you load the clothes in washing machine, this valve gets opened automatically
and it closes automatically depending on the total quantity of the water required. The water
control valve is actually the solenoid valve.
2) Water pump: The water pump circulates water through the washing machine. It works in two
directions, re-circulating the water during wash cycle and draining the water during the spin
cycle.
3) Tub: There are two types of tubs in the washing washing machine: inner and outer. The clothes
are loaded in the inner tub, where the clothes are washed, rinsed and dried. The inner tub has
small holes for draining the water. The external tub covers theinner tub and supports it during
various cycles of clothes washing.
4) Agitator or rotating disc: The agitator is located inside the tub of the washing machine. It is
the important part of the washing machine that actually performs the cleaning operation of the
clothes. During the wash cycle the agitator rotates continuously and produces strong rotating

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 currents within the water due to which the clothes also rotate inside the tub. The rotation of the
clothes within water containing the detergent enables the removal of the dirt particles from the
fabric of the clothes. Thus the agitator produces most important function of rubbing the clothes
with each other as well as with water. In some washing machines, instead of the long agitator,
there is a disc that contains blades on its upper side. The rotation of the disc and the blades
produce strong currents within the water and the rubbing of clothes that helps in removing the
dirt from clothes.
5) Motor of the washing machine: The motor is coupled to the agitator or the disc and produces
it rotator motion. These are multispeed motors, whose speed can be changed as per the
requirement. In the fully automatic washing machine the speed of the motor i.e. the agitator
changes automatically as per the load on the washing machine.
6) Timer: The timer helps setting the wash time for the clothes manually. In the automatic mode
the time is set automatically depending upon the number of clothes inside the washing
machine.
7) Printed circuit board (PCB): The PCB comprises of the various electronic components and
circuits, which are programmed to perform in unique ways depending on the load conditions
(the condition and the amount of clothes loaded in the washing machine). They are sort of
artificial intelligence devices that sense the various external conditions and take the decisions
accordingly. These are also called as fuzzy logic systems. Thus the PCB will calculate the total
weight of the clothes, and find out the quantity of water and detergent required, and the total
time required for washing the clothes. Then they will decide the time required for washing and
rinsing.
8) Drain pipe: The drain pipe enables removing the dirty water from the washing that has been
used for the washing purpose.

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 Control
The controls for this machine were designed before microcontrollers were being used in
appliances. In fact, there is not a single resistor or capacitor in the whole machine. First, let's take
a look at the cycle switch -- you'll be amazed at what is inside.

Cycle switch

The cycle switch has the job of determining how long the different parts of the cycle last.

Inside the switch is a little motor equipped with a very large gear reduction that makes the control
dial turn very slowly. In the top half of the switch, there is a set of six contacts. These are actuated
by the small pieces of metal in the plastic arm on the dial. As the dial spins, bumps on the dial
raise and lower the six metal pieces, which close and open the contacts in the top half of the switch.

Inside the cycle switch

If you look at the shape of the bumps, you can see why the dial on the washer spins only one way:
The front side of the bumps has a slope that raises up the metal pieces gradually; but the back side
doesn't, so if you try to turn the knob backward, the metal pieces wedge against the bumps.

This bumpy plastic disk is really the software program that runs your washing machine. The length
of the bumps determines how long each part of the cycle lasts, and the length of the space between
bumps determines how long the machine pauses before moving on to its next task.

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 Inside the cycle switch

The speed and temperature control switches are much simpler than the cycle control switch.

Speed and temperature control switches

These switches control the speed of the motor and determine which of the hot/cold water supply
solenoids will open during the wash and the rinse cycles. If hot is selected, only the hot water
solenoid valve will open when the machine fills; if warm is selected, both will open; and if cold is
selected, only the cold water solenoid valve will open.

Inside the speed/temperature control

The speed/temperature control is pretty simple. Each plastic rocker engages two sets of contacts,
either opening or closing the circuit connected to those contacts. For each switch, there is always
one closed and one open set of contacts.

The level sensor uses a pressure switch to detect the water level in the tub.

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 Water level control switch

This switch controls how high the tub fills with water.

Water level control switch plumbing

The big end of the hose connects to the bottom of the tub, while the small end connects to the
switch. As the water level in the tub rises, water rises in the hose also; but the air in the hose is
trapped, so as the water rises, the air is compressed.

Inside the water level control switch

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 Inside the housing of this switch is a little piston. The pressure in the hose pushes the piston up.
When it is raised far enough, it pops up and closes an electrical contact. This set point, where the
contact is lost, is adjustable, and in the picture you can see the cam mechanism that is connected
to the adjuster knob on the control panel of the washer. As the cam turns, it presses a spring against
the cylinder, making it harder for the cylinder to pop up. This means that the water level will have
to rise some more before the pressure in the hose will be high enough to trigger the switch.

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