Dyson's latest AirBlade dries your freshly washed hands straight from the Tap
While it was never the most original take on powerful commercial hand driers, the Dyson AirBlade has nevertheless been an admirable piece of public restroom kit. Now seven years since its official debut, the company's refreshed the super-charged water dissipator to be 5.5-pounds lighter, dubbing it the AirBlade mk2. Taking things a step further, a new V-shaped model can output the same 420mph blower speed in a package that's roughly sixty-percent smaller.
Dyson didn't stop there, though, as its Tap model brings the tech straight to the faucet. The stainless steel enclosure houses the same 1,400-watt DC brushless motor as the previous models, dispersing HEPA-filtered "sheets" of air through a single laser-cut slit in each of two wings that extend from the Tap's sides. The silenced, carbon fiber-enclosed motor is positioned away from the sink whether it's on a wall or a counter, leaving only the streamlined faucet in view. More interesting yet, we're told it reaches 92,000RPM in about 0.7 seconds! Of course, the system is totally automated, with infrared sensors for the water and dryer portions. Sure, over-engineered does come to mind, but we can't say we wouldn't be giddy to get our mitts under one at some point.
As it stands, hand-washing connoisseurs can begin placing orders for the Tap come February 5th, and the others in May. For now, you can get your hands dirty (clean?) by clicking past the break for the obligatory detailed press release and video demo.
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Airblade™ technology on tap
Wash and dry at the sink.
The Dyson Airblade Tap hand dryer washes and dries hands with no need to leave the sink.
Infrared sensors pinpoint hand positions and release water from the tap stem. Once hands are wet and drying is requested, integrated circuitry computes the information and activates the latest Dyson digital motor, creating two high velocity sheets of air on the tap's branches. Using Airblade™ technology, the Dyson Airblade Tap hand dryer sends sheets unheated filtered air at 420mph towards hands, literally scraping them dry. Hands are dry in 14 seconds.
James Dyson says: "Using laser cutting techniques to manipulate marine grade steel, Dyson engineers have created an intuitive, high performance tap. Two branches channel high velocity air to literally scrape water from hands and into the sink - not the floor".
The latest Dyson digital motor: The Dyson Airblade Tap hand dryer is powered by the latest Dyson digital motor – a power-dense brushless DC motor, utilising a bonded magnet encased in a carbon fiber sleeve. It is one of the world's smallest and fully integrated 1400W motors. Using digital pulse technology, it accelerates from 0-92,000rpm in less than 0.7 seconds.
HEPA filters: The Dyson Airblade™ hand dryer passes washroom air through a HEPA filter which removes 99.97% of bacteria at 0.3 microns from the air used to dry hands.
Motor bucket design: Key components, including the motor, are housed in a discrete package under the sink. Dyson engineers spent over 2,240 hours designing the motor bucket, and worked hard to contain noise – introducing springs to reduce vibration, acoustic foams to absorb noise and expansion chambers to improve sound quality.
Helmholtz silencers: Six Dyson-designed Helmholtz silencers combine to absorb tonal frequencies and reduce the motor tone. The first harmonic of the motor tone, plus the high pitch noise made by the impeller have all been contained and made almost inaudible to the human ear.
Sensor operation: Independent infrared sensors allow the user to have as much water and air as they want according to need. An aerator mixes the water and dispenses water across hands to reduce the volume of water used and the flow rate of water is controlled by motion detection.
Materials: The Dyson Airblade Tap hand dryer is made from 304 stainless steel – an anti-corrosion steel used for the construction of boats. Dyson engineers developed a specialized laser cutter capable of cutting through tough steel to 0.001 millimeters of accuracy. The laser precision means that there are almost no joining lines – air, water and electrics are contained in a smooth package at the sink.
Dyson digital motor:
• Dyson has over 100 engineers in its in-house motors team and has spent £100m researching and developing its digital motors over the past 15 years. Dyson continues to invest £10m a year into motor R&D.
• The latest Dyson digital motor cost £26.9 million to develop. It was the result of seven years development.
• Dyson digital motors are built in Dyson's high-tech £20m motor factory in Singapore. The West Park facility will produce 50,000 motors a week and covers an area of 36,000 square feet.
• In its lifetime the digital motor inside a Dyson Airblade™ hand dryer can move around 162,000 m3 of air, enough to fill 24 million balloons.
Research, Design and Development: Dyson's new Airblade™ hand dryers are the result of nearly three years' intensive R&D by a team of 125 Dyson engineers and an investment of £40m.
Robotic and people testing:
• The Dyson Airblade Tap hand dryer was subject to atmospheric testing and was exposed to over 230 PSI – enough to make a conventional tap explode. Conventional taps are typically tested at 30 PSI.
• Dyson engineers created over 3,300 prototypes for Dyson's new Airblade™ hand dryers and every component was subjected to hundreds of tests.
• Dyson's unforgiving test team was tasked with finding fault and weakness and paying attention to detail – they simulated washing hands 213 million times.
Patents: there are 110 patents and patents pending on Dyson Airblade hand dryers using Airblade™ technology, and the latest Dyson digital motor has another 100 patents and patents pending.
Variations: The Dyson Airblade Tap hand dryer comes in three varieties, for different washroom set-ups: wall mounted or counter top with a long or short stem.
Warranty: All Airblade™ hand dryers come with a 5 year warranty.
Running cost: The Dyson Airblade Tap hand dryer is able to dry 15 pairs of hands for the price of a single paper towel. The Dyson Airblade Tap hand dryer costs $48 a year to run.
Availability:
Dyson's Airblade Tap hand dryer beginning February 5, 2013
New Dyson digital motor powers the latest Dyson Airblade™ hand dryers
Developed by a team of 125 Dyson engineers, Dyson introduces three new Airblade™ hand dryers – the fastest, sustainable way to dry hands.
Dyson Airblade Tap hand dryer: wash and dry hands in one place – no need to leave the sink.
Dyson Airblade V hand dryer: concentrated technology, 60% smaller but no compromise on performance.
A reengineered Dyson Airblade hand dryer: 5.5 lbs of materials removed, carbon emissions reduced by 40% during manufacture.
Conventional hand-dryers use one column of bacteria-filled bathroom air to evaporate water from hands, after much hand rubbing. Most people simply give up. Dyson Airblade™ hand dryers dry hands quickly and effectively using:
Airblade™ technology: sheets of high velocity unheated air travel through tiny apertures at 420mph quickly scraping water from hands like a windshield wiper, leaving them fully dry.
The latest Dyson digital motor: a power-dense brushless DC motor, utilizing a bonded magnet encased in a carbon fiber sleeve. It is one of the world's smallest and fully integrated 1400W motors. Using digital pulse technology, it accelerates from 0-92,000rpm in less than 0.7 seconds.
HEPA filters: The Dyson Airblade™ hand dryer passes washroom air through a HEPA filter which removes 99.97% of bacteria at 0.3 microns from the air used to dry hands.
James Dyson said:
"Using complex computer modelling Dyson engineers have developed a high performance digital motor. The Dyson digital motor self-adjusts 6,000 times a second to maintain optimum efficiency to create high velocity sheet of air that dries hands quickly and hygienically."
Dyson Airblade Tap hand dryer
The Dyson Airblade Tap hand dryer washes and dries hands with no need to leave the sink. Infrared sensors pinpoint hand positions and release water from the tap stem. Once hands are wet and drying is required, integrated circuitry computes the information and activates the latest Dyson digital motor, creating two high velocity sheets of air on the tap's branches. Unheated clean air is released to scrape water off hands, leaving them dry in 14 seconds.
Dyson Airblade V hand dryer
Dyson engineers have concentrated Airblade™ technology without compromising drying performance. The Dyson Airblade V hand dryer is 60% smaller than the original, yet dries hands fast. Two sheets of high velocity air angled at 115 degrees span the width of each hand, and scrape off water. Hands are dry in 12 seconds.
Dyson Airblade mk2 hand dryer
Dyson engineers have reengineered the Dyson Airblade™ hand dryer. Engineers removed 5.5 lbs of materials from the machine. It is HACCP approved for hygiene, so it is safe for use in the food and beverage industry.
Dyson digital motor:
• Dyson has over 100 engineers in its in-house motors team and has spent £100m researching and developing its digital motors over the past 15 years. Dyson continues to invest £10m a year into motor R&D.
• The latest Dyson digital motor cost £26.9 million to develop. It was the result of seven years development.
• Dyson digital motors are built in Dyson's high-tech £20m motor factory in Singapore. The West Park facility will produce 50,000 motors a week and covers an area of 36,000 square feet.
• In its lifetime the digital motor inside a Dyson Airblade™ hand dryer can move around 162,000 m3 of air, enough to fill 24 million balloons.
Research, Design and Development: Dyson's new Airblade™ hand dryers are the result of nearly three years' intensive R&D by a team of 125 Dyson engineers and an investment of £40m.
Robotic and people testing:
• The Dyson Airblade Tap hand dryer was subject to atmospheric testing and was exposed to over 230 PSI – enough to make a conventional tap explode. Conventional taps are typically tested at 30 PSI.
• Dyson engineers created over 3,300 prototypes for Dyson's new Airblade™ hand dryers and every component was subjected to hundreds of tests.
• Dyson's unforgiving test team was tasked with finding fault and weakness and paying attention to detail – they simulated washing hands 213 million times.
Patents: there are 110 patents and patents pending on Dyson Airblade hand dryers using Airblade™ technology, and the latest Dyson digital motor has another 100 patents and patents pending.
Variations: The Dyson Airblade Tap hand dryer comes in three varieties, for different washroom set-ups: wall mounted or counter top with a long or short stem.
Warranty: All Airblade™ hand dryers come with a 5 year warranty.
Running cost: The Dyson Airblade Tap hand dryer is able to dry 15 pairs of hands for the price of a single paper towel. The Dyson Airblade Tap hand dryer costs $48 a year to run.
Availability:
Pre-orders can be taken on Dyson's Airblade Tap hand dryer beginning February 5, 2013. Pre-orders can be taken on Dyson's Airblade V and mk2 hand dryer from May 2013.
