Hoover Report

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Vacuum Report Goblin Aztec 1500W

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Introduction

The vacuum cleaner that is being

examined in this report is the Goblin

Aztec 1500W (see figure 1) This report

will deal with the function of the vacuumcleaner as perceived by the user, the

materials, manufacturing methods, the

various mechanisms and features for

example the cord rewind and the stair

hook and there will comments made in

relation to factors such as the appearance

and the overall design of the previously mentioned vacuum cleaner.

Function as perceived by the user

Generally the most important aspect for the user is how powerful the suction

is. This is seen as the top priority as this is the purpose of the product; its role

is to clean by sucking up particles of dirt from floors, and the suction power

defines this. The user will expect the bag to large enough that it doesnt

require emptying after every use, for conveniences sake but also cost, as

some vacuum bags can be expensive. The price is also a major concern

when buying a vacuum cleaner but this has to be balanced with performance,

as a cheap vacuum will generally give a sub par job when compared to more

expensive types. The amount of attachments can be pivotal, as most people

require more than the standard head for various reasons such as cleaning

along corners or for smaller tighter places where the standard large head

cannot fit. Where these attachments are stored can be of import ance as

storing them along the hose as most modern cleaners do can get in the way

of some people but storing it inside the vacuum can add bulk and getting them

out can be awkward depending on the design of the storing portion. Size and

weight is another major concern as city dwellers cannot afford to have a large

vacuum taking up valuable space and most users dont want to lug around a

cumbersome and heavy vacuum when they are trying to clean.

Figure 1. Goblin Aztec 1500W


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Ma teri als

ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) -Majority of vacuum

ABSslight weight and ability to be

injection molded and extruded make ituseful in manufacturing. Some of its

more important properties are impact

resistance and toughness.

Modifications can be made to improve

impact resistance, toughness, and

heat resistance, toughness is

particularly required here as

throughout its lifecycle the vacuum will

have to withstand a high amount of

wear and tear as users will be

dragging the cleaner around and hitting the vacuum off various surfaces.

It is also used due to its low cost.

Polycarbonate Toppanel (see figure 3)

Polycarbonate is used in the semi-

clear panel on the top of the vacuum.

It is a very durable material with a high

impact-resistance. Unlike most

thermoplastics, polycarbonate can be

subject to large plastic deformations

without cracking or breaking. Due to

this, it can be processed and formed

at room temperature using sheet metal

techniques, such as forming bends on

a brake, this is beneficial in the manufacturing stage .

Figure 2. The bottom casing shown like mostparts in the vacuum is made from ABS

Figure 3. The semi-clear blue panel


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Chrome steel Motor casing (see figure 4)

The motor is never going to be seen so the

material it requires doesnt need to look good

and so the manufacturer can cut down on the

cost of its material.However it must functionwell as the motor is an essential part of the

product. The chromium in this steel provides

some resistance to corrosion, it is not as

corrosive resistant as stainless steel but it is

quite a deal cheaper to use in such a high

production situation where price is a major

factor.

Rubber Mounting for motor (see figure 5)

Due to elasticity rubber is able to absorb

vibration very effectively this is why its used

as the mounting for the motor as it absorb s

the vibrations as the motor is running. This

prevents the motor from moving violently and

damaging itself and also provides stability to

the entire vacuum as the motor is kept

relatively still

Figure 4. The motor casing

Figure 5. Rubber mounting


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Nylon Cord rewind mechanism (see figure 6)

Nylon is used in the set up for the cord

rewind. It is used due to its low co-efficient of friction, which in a part that is constantly

subject to intenseamounts of friction is

essential. The low co-efficient property

means the part can rotate with ease and

without fear of degrading too fast. Nylon is

also used for its excellent abrasion

resistance, which in a part that is under

intense work is useful.

Figure 6. Cord rewind mechanism


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Ma nuf a cturing method s

Injection moulding (see figure 7)

Injection molding is a manufacturing

process for producing parts from boththermoplastic and thermosettingplastic

materials. Material is fed into a heated

barrel, mixed, and forced into a mould

cavity where it cools and hardens to the

shape of the mould cavity.In the vacuum

essentially all of the parts are created

using injection moulding techniques.

Deep drawing (see figure 8)

Deep drawing is used to create the outer

shell of the motor. Placing a sheet of steel

or the blank on top of a die carries out the

process. A punch then lowers and forces

the blank into the shape of the die.

Figure 7. Injection moulding process

Figure 8. Deep drawing process


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Fe a ture s a nd M ech a ni s m s

Cord rewind

The rewind system is made up of two parts, the nylon section (see figure 9) is

where the cord is wrapped around and houses the electrics. It also containsthe spring, which is the key to the mechanism working. The second part (see

figure 10) is the plate, which is attached to the nylon section. The plate

contains the switch, which makes contact with the button that controls the

mechanism. How the rewind works is when the user pulls out the cord to plug

the vacuum in, what they are involuntarily doing is winding the spring

contained within the nylon section thusly they are creating potential energy

within the spring. When the user is finished using the vacuum they then press

down on the rewind button. This releases the switch, which was holding the

system in tension. The spring begins to unfurl causing the mechanism to

rotateand wind the cord back into the machine

Figure 9. Nylon section Figure 10. The plate


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Dust bag condition indicator (see figure 11)

The indicator functions using the vacuum

created by the cleaner when it is in use.

As seen in figure 11 the indicator is a

simple plastic tube, with one end blockedoff and one end open. The spring is

placed at the end that is blocked off.

When the cleaner is switched on and a

vacuum begins to form, the open end is

susceptible to its pull so due to the

change in pressure it starts to get moved

across. The spring allows the indicator to

do this. When the vacuum is then turned

off the vacuum dissipates and the spring

recoils resetting the indicator. This shows

how full the bug is because the amount of

material in the bag affects the power of the

vacuum. When the bag is empty the

vacuum is strong and so the indicator is pulled the entire way across showing

only green. As the bag fills, the power lessens and so the spring begins to

bring the indicator back showing more of the red section therefore indicating

the bag is getting full.

Capacity to carry tools on board

As the vacuum did not have its bag inside, it

was not easily identifiable how much space is

inside the vacuum for attachments. Also as

only one attachment could be found when most

modern cleaners have at least extra three tools

it was not clear as to how much space was

even required. However assuming there is

only one attachment then there is

adequate space inside the vacuum (see

figure 12) to store it even if the bag is quite large

Figure 11. Dust bag indicator

Figure 12. Inside of the main body


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Special features

This particular model had a special feature in the form

of a stair hook (see figure 13). This feature eliminatesthe problem of the vacuum tipping over or falling down

the stairs as the user cleans them. This is achieved by

a combination of a handle that pops out and latches

onto a step and the wheels, when the vacuum is tilted

at an angle, lock into place thus preventing them from

rolling backwards down the stairs. The handle is on a

spring and pops out when the vacuum is held up and slots back in when it is

brought back to a horizontal position. The locking mechanism of the wheels

works using wedges. On the inside of the wheels are a series of angled

wedges (see figure 14).

On the side of the vacuum body where the wheels are attached is a wedge

that swings. When the vacuum is horizontal (see figure 15) due to gravity it

Figure 13. Stair hook handle

Figure 14. Inside wheel hubwith wedges shown


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simply hangs down straight. But when the vacuum is tilted (see figure 16) the

wedge then swings along with the angle until it goes far enough that it hits

against the wedges contained with the wheel hubs. This then locks the two in

place preventing any movement.

Cu s tomer Review s

Reviews were taken from

http://www.ciao.co.uk/Reviews/Goblin_Aztec__73444

All reviews made a point of stating that when looking to buy a new vacuum,

that price was the biggest concern. The Goblin Aztec averaged around 50,

so reviewers saw it as not a big loss if it turned out to be a low -grade product.

Out of nine reviews seven said that the vacuum was excellent value for

money. They noted how light the product was and so easy to drag around.

The suction power was said to quite good also. There were however

problems, noise seemed to be a huge drawback for the amount of suction

power. The casing did tend to crack in some situations and the stair hook

system wasnt extremely effective, some reviewers stating it didnt work at all.

Finally the size of the nozzle was a problem. Some reviewers did note that

you get what you pay for and in the situation where the reviewer wasnt

pleased with the Goblin they stated they were going to invest in a Dyson on

their vacuum purchase.

Comment s

Figure 15. Swing in horizontalposition

Figure 16. Swing at tiltedangle


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Vacuum Report Goblin Aztec 1500 W

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Overa ll A earance and es i n

e vera ll shape and des i n f the vacuum is uite modern and pleas ing to

the eye . Obv ious ly its a cheap produc t and so ma ter ia l cho ices are limited bu t

the use of a clear plas tic as the top pane l does go some ays as to give a

perce ived e lemen t of ua lity. It a lso a llows the user to par tia lly see the bag and see how f ull it is which is very much use f ul and a good s imp le des ign

f ea ture . he res t of the ma ter ia l cho ices br ing it down however giving a cheap

image as the bu ttons are very flimsy bu t as is be ing cons tan tly repea ted its a

cheap produc t so users aren t buy ing it f o r its s tandard of ua lity. he hand le

is pos itioned in an idiotic place jus t be low the hose . his means tha t when in

use the user cant grab it f rom above , which is where one wou ld usua lly grasp

it bu t one mus t grab it f rom be low. his jus t adds an e lemen t of awkwardness

to user interac tion .

Cus tomer rev iews compared with the cond ition of the sub jec t app liance

he rev iews did corre la te uite we ll with the dissec ted sub jec t mode l. he

app liance is ligh t enough f or the average vacuum . he crack ing prob lem can

be exp la ined with uite thin sec tion of ma ter ia l in cer ta in areas . he no ise is

loud due to a s trong mo tor in con junc ti on with little no ise insu la tion , as the

she ll is very thin and so wou ldnt absorb a high amoun t of runn ing no ise .

owever the comp la ints abou t the s ta ir hook no t work ing are somewha t

con f us ing , as the mechan ics seemed to work uite we ll when they were

tes ted ou t in the lab . he s i e of the nozz le can t be commen ted on as on ly

the body of the vacuum was be ing exam ined .

es ign f or assemb ly


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R egard ing assemb ly the des ign is good . here is a sma ll amoun t of par ts ,

which is of utmos t impor tance when a produc t is be ing assemb led . he

ma jor ity of the par ts s imp ly snap on or are s imp ly placed into the correc t

segmen ts . here are some sec tions requ ir ing screw ing bu t these are

pos itioned in such a way tha t it is a s imp le task to screw them in. he ind ica tor is the on ly par t requ ir ing spec ia l trea tmen t as this requ ires gluing into

place .

es ign f or IY repa irs

his produc t is no t des igned f or IY repa irs wh ich is unders tandab le as it is a

cheap consumer produc t, tha t mos t peop le wou ld s imp ly through ou t if it

broke down ra ther than trying to fix it. As men tioned in des ign f or assemb ly

mos t par ts e ither snap into place or fit snug ly into the ir des igna ted area .

Attemp ting to ge t a t these par ts withou t tak ing them ou t is very difficu lt and

when tak ing those par ts ou t they requ ir ing a grea t dea l of bru te f orce to pry

them ou t. his can resu lt in the break ing of par ts tha t didnt requ ire fixing un til

the user took them ou t to ga in access to ano ther par t. he ind ica tor is glued

into place and so to remove it requ ires tear ing it off, this r isks damag ing the

cover and the sec tion where the ind ica tor is he ld in place . he on ly good

sec tion to IY repa irs is ge tting the mo tor f ree isnt too difficu lt as it is jus t

res ting in place a top rubber moun tings . owever wires have to be cu t to ge t it

ou t bu t this isnt a prob lem as to rep lace the mo tor the wir ing will be taken f rom

the old and a ttached to the new .

Bill ma ia l


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Nam Q a i y P ss Ma ia l

T p le a asi 1 I ject i

m ld i Plyc a b a te

Bo tt o m b o d y 1 I ject ion

m ou ld ing ABS

W eel s 2 In ject ion

m ou ld ing ABS

Cor d ew in d 1 In ject ion

m ou ld ing Nylon

Mo t or Casi ng 1 D ee p d r a w ing C ro m e s teel

Mo t or Moun t ing 1 In ject ion

m ou ld ing u bbe r

Att a ch m e n t 1 In ject ion

m ou ld ing ABS

Bib liogr ap h y


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R esearch y http://www.ciao .co .uk/R ev iews / ob lin_ Aztec__73444

y http://en .wikiped ia .org /wiki/Chrome_s tee l

y http://en .wikiped ia .org /wiki/Polypropy lene

y http://en .wikiped ia .org /wiki/ ylon

y http://en .wikiped ia .org /wiki/In jec tion_mou lding

y http://www.cas terc ity.com /prw .htm

y http://en .wikiped ia .org /wiki/Acry lon itr ile_bu tad iene_s tyrene

y http://www.exp la intha ts tuff.com /vacuumc leaner .html

Images y igures , P ho tos taken on day of lab

y igure

http://www.morphyr ichards .co .uk/App_Themes / orphy R ichards /Image

s /P roduc ts /70245-Hero .jpg

y igure 7 http://mit.uvt.rnu .tn/ R /rdon lyres / loba l/ / 0C 412 -1F A7-

4729- A -7874550 BFE0E /0/chp_ in jec tionmo lding .jpg

y Figure 8 http://www.cus tompar tne t.com /wu/images /shee t-

me ta l/deep-draw ing .png

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