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0 pointsCalRobert8y ago0 comments

I just bought a washing machine. I spent a long, long time looking for the simplest one I could find, in the hopes that I could replace any mechanical part. From other HN threads it seems the control panels tend to go out a lot.

Since I live in an apartment and wanted a small one anyway, I ended up with a portable one (oneConcept DB004 - odd name) that uses mechanical timers for the stages (you can hear them ticking!). It hasn't arrived yet but I am hopeful that when it inevitably breaks I can fix it.

I want to get a dishwasher next and sadly don't know if I can find something equivalent.

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mark-r8y ago

I wonder if energy regulations make it hard for mechanical products since they don't have the flexibility of electronic components.

CalRobertOP8y ago

That's certainly possible. Same goes for water - I note that Bosch dishwasher have some sort of system that analyzes the water to see if it's still clean enough to use before using more. Clever, and a savings for water, but one more complicated thing to break.

Of course, I fail to see why most modern consumer products can't just be driven with a Raspberry pi or arduino. Using off-the-shelf parts like that would do wonders for serviceability.

photojosh8y ago

I design embedded products for industry and usually prototype with Arduino and Pi-alikes before designing the final board.

A custom board assembly is much cheaper to manufacture. For instance, for a recent design, the only chip used off a full Arduino board was the microcontroller itself (and then in a different, smaller package).

Physical and electrical constraints are often significant. And that's before getting into all the issues involved with firmware and IP.

I love the idea of open-source (hardware and software) consumer appliances, but everything is stacked against it. Primarily economies of scale.

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