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Design the World: Bosch Ecosense Dishwasher
This post is sponsored by Autodesk. Another in a series of posts on the things we actually own and use here at MoCo Loco.
More than 40 years ago, my maternal grandmother acquired the first domestic dishwasher to be seen in my little hometown. It was a top loader. The door would swing up to reveal a washer arm and a heating element at the bottom with a couple of dish racks stacked above. My dear grandmother was barely 5 feet tall, but somehow she managed to load this thing and wheel it over to the sink. A dual hose and drain arrangement coupled to the tap handled the water, while a small mechanical timer just above the door hinge ticked away the wash cycle. I was fascinated.
Many years later, my first dishwasher was included with the purchase of a home. Once again I was fascinated. Not by the technology, but by how little things had changed over the years. The front loader, like my grandmother's first machine (and of the same make) was outfitted with an exposed heating element and a porcelain tub. The mechanical push-button controls were solid enough and it managed to clean the dishes (albeit noisily), but its "Big Iron" demeanour was dated.
Big Iron gave up the ghost eventually and I began to look for a replacement. There were plenty of bargain boxes on the market and at least one repairman who came to see Big Iron in its final days told me that dishwashers consisted of just four parts: a tub, a heating element, a pump and a timer. Anything fancier, he said, was a waste of money. I wasn't convinced. I consulted a trusted and fastidious friend and he told me to look for one brand: Bosch.
At that time, the company was just beginning to make inroads in the North American market and based on my friend's recommendation, I purchased a Bosch dishwasher without giving it more than a cursory inspection. I installed it myself and I was immediately struck by the height of the tub. Big Iron was equipped with a door that was hinged above a panel much like an oven door over a drawer. The entire front panel of the Bosch pivoted to reveal a tall gleaming stainless steel tub.
Tupperware melts! Big Iron disfigured many a piece of kitchen plastic over the years. Not so with the Bosch. An internal flow-through heater ensured that the water was kept at a constant temperature in order to clean and to sanitize. As well, my model was equipped with water opacity sensors that checked to "see" how many suspended solids were present in a first rinse. The dishwasher then adjusted the length of wash cycles as well as the number of rinses required for the load.
An old TV sketch show I used to watch would give a wink to the legendary quality of Rolls-Royce motorcars by showing an actor at the wheel and the only sound that was heard was the ticking of the clock on the dashboard. A Bosch dishwasher is designed much the same way. My first Bosch was left behind for new homeowners. My most recent model has been humming along, problem-free, for nearly a decade and I'm still fascinated.
Do you have a favorite object or product? Share it with us by uploading a picture and description at mocoloco.com/upload. We may feature your submission in an upcoming Favorite Designs post.
The illustrative sketches you see here were all created by Chris Sweet using Autodesk's Sketchbook Pro because favorite designs, yours and mine, begin with an idea and quite often with the kind of sketches you see here.
More than 40 years ago, my maternal grandmother acquired the first domestic dishwasher to be seen in my little hometown. It was a top loader. The door would swing up to reveal a washer arm and a heating element at the bottom with a couple of dish racks stacked above. My dear grandmother was barely 5 feet tall, but somehow she managed to load this thing and wheel it over to the sink. A dual hose and drain arrangement coupled to the tap handled the water, while a small mechanical timer just above the door hinge ticked away the wash cycle. I was fascinated.
Many years later, my first dishwasher was included with the purchase of a home. Once again I was fascinated. Not by the technology, but by how little things had changed over the years. The front loader, like my grandmother's first machine (and of the same make) was outfitted with an exposed heating element and a porcelain tub. The mechanical push-button controls were solid enough and it managed to clean the dishes (albeit noisily), but its "Big Iron" demeanour was dated.
Big Iron gave up the ghost eventually and I began to look for a replacement. There were plenty of bargain boxes on the market and at least one repairman who came to see Big Iron in its final days told me that dishwashers consisted of just four parts: a tub, a heating element, a pump and a timer. Anything fancier, he said, was a waste of money. I wasn't convinced. I consulted a trusted and fastidious friend and he told me to look for one brand: Bosch.
At that time, the company was just beginning to make inroads in the North American market and based on my friend's recommendation, I purchased a Bosch dishwasher without giving it more than a cursory inspection. I installed it myself and I was immediately struck by the height of the tub. Big Iron was equipped with a door that was hinged above a panel much like an oven door over a drawer. The entire front panel of the Bosch pivoted to reveal a tall gleaming stainless steel tub.
Tupperware melts! Big Iron disfigured many a piece of kitchen plastic over the years. Not so with the Bosch. An internal flow-through heater ensured that the water was kept at a constant temperature in order to clean and to sanitize. As well, my model was equipped with water opacity sensors that checked to "see" how many suspended solids were present in a first rinse. The dishwasher then adjusted the length of wash cycles as well as the number of rinses required for the load.
An old TV sketch show I used to watch would give a wink to the legendary quality of Rolls-Royce motorcars by showing an actor at the wheel and the only sound that was heard was the ticking of the clock on the dashboard. A Bosch dishwasher is designed much the same way. My first Bosch was left behind for new homeowners. My most recent model has been humming along, problem-free, for nearly a decade and I'm still fascinated.
Do you have a favorite object or product? Share it with us by uploading a picture and description at mocoloco.com/upload. We may feature your submission in an upcoming Favorite Designs post.
The illustrative sketches you see here were all created by Chris Sweet using Autodesk's Sketchbook Pro because favorite designs, yours and mine, begin with an idea and quite often with the kind of sketches you see here.
