What is inside an appliance?
There isn’t much rocket science in the typical small appliance (though that is changing to some extent with the use of microcomputer and fuzzy logic control). Everything represents variations on a relatively small number of basic themes: * Heating – a resistance element similar to what you can see inside a toaster provides heat to air, liquids, or solids by convections, conduction, or direct radiant (IR) heat. * Rotation, blowing, sucking – a motor provides power to move air as in a fan or vacuum cleaner, water as in a sump pump, or provide drive as in an electric pencil sharpener, food mixer, or floor polisher. * Control – switches and selectors, thermostats and speed regulators, and microcomputers determine what happens, when, how much, and assure safe operation.
There isn’t much rocket science in the typical small appliance (though that is changing to some extent with the use of microcomputer and fuzzy logic control). Everything represents variations on a relatively small number of basic themes: • Heating – a resistance element similar to what you can see inside a toaster provides heat to air, liquids, or solids by convections, conduction, or direct radiant (IR) heat. • Rotation, blowing, sucking – a motor provides power to move air as in a fan or vacuum cleaner, water as in a sump pump, or provide drive as in an electric pencil sharpener, food mixer, or floor polisher. • Control – switches and selectors, thermostats and speed regulators, and microcomputers determine what happens, when, how much, and assure safe operation. Basic electrical principles Relax! This is not going to be a tutorial on computer design. Appliances are simple devices. It is possible to repair many appliance faults without any knowledge beyond ‘a broken wire is probably
