Where is it? What's the price? I didn't see anything but guff on the websit e.
NT
It was probably just an art project ...
I doubt it.
NT
Found this link:
So the crowd fund campaign ended earlier this year. Hence it's not on sale yet. I hope it turns out to not be wildly expensive, and that the engineeri ng lives up to the claims. It has a USB socket, implying a CPU controller, not what I'd have chosen for a 50 year life expectancy. I'd have picked a r eprogrammable cam timer with parallel switching.
NT
machine delivered in kit for self-assembly. In order to fight planned obsol escence its design is simplistic and every constituent is replaceable; it i s designed to last over 50 years.'
At one time all washing machines were delivered pre-assembled and every par t could be removed/replaced. Nowadays they are clearly not intended to be repaired and any parts cost an arm and a leg. So, what's new?
One of these bizarre ideas fighting reality:
I don't agree. I've fixed enough of them. Some parts are straightforward, s ome not practical.
£250 every 8 years or so. Over a lifetimes that's £2500 ignoring inflation. Not that cheap.most have no idea how to. L'increvable plans to provide clear instructions to follow that don't require expertise, plus inexpensive parts.
Yes, one that is diy fixable solves that
It's no more complex, and it means everything needs fixing together with nu ts & bolts or other straightforward reusable fixings, rather than spot weld s, ultrasonic welds, crimps etc. That cost increase is small and more than offset by it coming in kit form.
It would make a mess of the traditional business model. High priced spares are out - so they claim - so the new machines would need to cost more. That 's fine if it's not excessive and it's properly engineered. We'll have to w ait and see if it is.
If it's as claimed and the price realistic it could take a big bite of the market.
NT
But if the company goes bust then no spare parts. Its not necessarily the longevity of the machine but of the company(ies) manufacturing the (spare) parts.
Electronic parts can go out of fashion in a matter of years and even when designing something for military use with an expected life of decades the manufacturers of electronic chips may only guarantee supply for 15 years. Buying up and keeping a stock of parts that are about to go obsolele can be an expensive.
g machine delivered in kit for self-assembly. In order to fight planned obs olescence its design is simplistic and every constituent is replaceable; it is designed to last over 50 years.'
obviously. It's an open source design, so if popular there will be makers. And it does look like a recipe for popularity.
One reason I would be cautious of using a cpu. But presumably new controlle r boards will be compatible, otherwise it's not 50 yr design life.
NT
Open source doesn't mean stability of design. Open source often means the design will evolve and the machine will morph into something better/cheaper/different and something 5 years old will no longer be supported. Only die hard geeks still support 50 year old technology.
Its probably been bought by one of the main companies and buried. Brian
ISE did a washing machine with replaceable and reclable parts. The company went bust and the parts, especially the PCB, were so specialised that the machines are obsolete - and so's the 10-year warranty.
yup. If Linux is anything to go by there will be a lot of compatibility.
With today's electronics, nothing 50 years old is in regular use. If there are a million users of 50 year old machines there will be a parts market. Being open source, anyone that wants can make the parts.
NT
More than a few 50 year old Valve audio amplifiers are still in use.... And a few valve communication radio sets ex WWII etc etc.
The transistor is around 60 years old now.
Indeed so. My copy of "Mullard - Transitors for the Experimenter" was published in 1956
And by the time you've made the impractical parts practical, it's half the machine and £200 being replaced as a lump. And no different to ultrasonically welded drums that you can't get apart to change the bearings.
What's a fair spread of ordinary wages these days? £8k - £40k? So £250 out of anything between, say, £64,000 and £320,000 worth of wages/income support/pension etc. Don't get me wrong, I think £250 is money worth saving, but most don't.
Also, IME, the averge Joe subsisting at the £8k level and below (ie who would actually benefit from this) can't/won't perform the most basic repair tasks and have no interest in learning. That's why they're where they are.
See above. I've seen this again and again. It doesn't matter how simple something is, you're fighting a losing battle to change mindsets.
Nuts & bolts???? People struggle with bloody Ikea furniture fixings. The thinking just isn't simple enough. Big, chunky hand toggles, maybe.
It really won't. There just isn't the critical mass of people interested enough to save a few quid and who aren't put off by DIY. And the people who would buy it would be the sort who could mend a standard Zanussi anyway. The only way this'd take off would be if standard machines were a *lot* more expensive.
For a quick analogy. Cars. I mend many different cars for people. Renaults, BMWs, Citroens, Land Rovers, etc, and will often Google for info first (or during!).
Now, time and again, the most detailed information out there on the internet is for the expensive ones and posted by the people most able to pay main dealer fees. Conversely, cheap French cars can have a complete dearth of info about standard problems. The people who can barely afford to run them can't diagnose the basics and bankrupt themselves running them as they always pay someone else.
that doesn't make sense
so bolted tubs are no different to welded for access. I see.
everyone would benefit
a rather inaccurate stereotype IME.
Er, I'm not trying to.
Most people put their stuff together ok.
There are enough to keep many diy supplies chains going.
the whole point is to make them repairable by most rather than repairable b y few. Trabant thinking.
snip
In reality council estates have the highest rate of owner repair of cars.
NT
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