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Cover Story: 62nd Annual Laundry Appliances Report
Ease and Efficiency
Tim Somheil, Editor

Designing laundry appliances is—still—all about making life easier.

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Who’s Who in the North American Appliance Industry 2009
The 2009 Who’s Who in the North American Appliance Industry is a database of appliance companies, their manufacturing/ engineering facilities, and key personnel in North America. More than 500 companies are in the database. Each listing includes, when available: Facility Name, Product Category, Street Address, City, Postal Code, and Country if outside the United States, Phone, Fax, and Web Site. The Who’s Who is only available in digital form.
Price: $425.00 Published: 8/2009 Format: XLS
*Promotional discounts will be applied at check-out.

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Feature: Plastics
Expanding Horizons
Tim Somheil, editor

Plastics are evolving to meet OEM needs for sustainability and speed.

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APPLIANCE Engineer - Ignition Systems
ENGINEERING INNOVATIONS: Alternative To High–Power Thick Film Resistive Technology

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APPLIANCE Engineer - Ignition Systems
ENGINEERING INNOVATIONS: Simplifying Complex Connections

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APPLIANCE Engineer - The Open Door
The Next Breakthrough in Microwaves?
Bob Schiffmann, owner, R.F. Schiffmann Associates Inc.

Ingenuity is a crazy thing. Sometimes it leads to innovative products that look good on paper and make engineers giddy, but more often than not, these products get lost on consumers and end up in the niche wasteland. Take the Polara refrigerated oven, which Whirlpool debuted way back in 2002, as an example. The concept—developing an oven that keeps food cool until a preset timer tells it to start cooking—is beyond innovative, but consumers were obviously not ready for it. Or, at $1800, just couldn’t afford it.

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APPLIANCE Engineer - Ignition Systems
EMI and Gas Ignition: The Impact of Electrical Noise
Gordon Swanson, general manager (Controls), Fenwal Controls

Gas-fired systems can benefit greatly by using direct spark ignition (DSI), provided engineers know how to address potential electrical noise challenges.

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APPLIANCE Engineer - Motor Technology
BLDC Under Custom Control

Compact brushless dc blowers allow users to specify an internal or external electronic control module, thus achieving more design flexibility.

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APPLIANCE Engineer - Technology Report
Integrated Connectivity

PLC transceiver modules save PCB space and cut time to market by providing embedded CE or networking applications with integrated HomePlug AV solutions.

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APPLIANCE Engineer - Electronics Report
Low-Power USB Connectivity

A new MCU family features embedded USB and ultralow power consumption, providing easy USB solutions to battery-powered, portable applications.

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APPLIANCE Engineer - Manufacturing Technology
Flexible Assembly

A patented connection system allows a single assembly machine to perform almost unlimited processes.

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Engineering Case Study: Dishwasher Sound Reduction
Silencing a Dishwasher in a Drawer

Sound was the offender, and Fisher & Paykel needed a detective who could nab the villain quick.

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APPLIANCE Line
Far Out Concepts

Some finalists in Electrolux’s 2009 Design Lab competition push the boundaries of believability.