Curious about Circuit Boards in Vacuum Cleaners

[fantomfan57]

I was wondering if anyone besides myself have ever been able to find online the reason Circuit Boards were added to Vacuum Cleaners.

I mean I have searched using all kinds of wording and find, NOTHING.

I imagine there are members who run Vacuum Repair Shops that may know the real reason, and that this subject has been speculated on, but I would like to know why they were added.

I suspect they may have been designed for safety, but I also suspect they are there to shorten the life of a motor so a new motor would have to be replaced or a new vacuum cleaner would be purchased.

I have had some experience with Vacuum Shops to know there is a need to sell new vacuums, I totally understand that. But to tell a customer their motor is shot when all that needs to be done is the brushes need replacing. I personally have experience with this situation, 2 times. The 3rd. instance was, the was sold a very nice Royal Canister because the owner was told the motor is not available any more. Turns out, I replaced it with a Lamb spare and afterwards found the original needed new brushes. (Silly me for not checking that first).

Your thoughts, comments or truth?

 

[paulg]

My two cents, a manufacturer’s perspective

My two cents:
First of all, my background was engineer and product safety specialist for a large electronics manufacturer - and these reponsibilities included the launch and support for their vacuum-cleaner line.
In my opinion, circuit boards were added for a number of reasons. One can easily add new features such as motor speed controls (using compact SCRs), touch controls and lighting features. One can also use circuit boards to house solder-in fuses and thermo-cutouts that add to safety.
Assembly and reliability are improved.
Sure, circuit boards fail. But they fail a lot less than you may think. I used to monitor circuit-board failure and performed many a final evaluation of returned (dud) boards from repairs. Many boards returned were not faulty. Let me tell you, there are MANY “board happy” repairpersons out there. It used to frustrate me that so much warranty dollars were spent on parts that were not faulty at all.
So the motor doesn’t run? The warranty claim includes a dud motor and control board. Indeed the motor was faulty but the board has worked on the bench for a month. What gives?
No good manufacturer would include a printed circuit board to induce failure. A manufacturer has a reputation and wants to be in business tomorrow. My company wanted always to present a terrific value and great reliability. If a manufacturer did indeed produce a “guaranteed to fail” PWB in a product the dealers (who are super smart) would be on to this so fast... the reputation of the manufacturer would be over in short time.
Comments welcome!

 

[rowdy141]

Your circuit board could have many uses. It depends what's on it. They're in most appliances, from vacuums to toasters.

They typically convert AC to DC for LED headlights. They can boost motor speed for a while when you've pressed the Turbo button, or reduce power when heat builds-up, or control bag-full and airflow LEDs, or simply hold an interference capacitor or similar.

Pre-made boards speed-up manufacturing and servicing with a switchable module.

I doubt they're used to prematurely wear out the motor, but they may be used to monitor & control motor speed - as in your washing machine.

This is nothing new. My washing machine packed-up. The engineer said it needed a new £180 Control Board. It was a blown 1A Fast-Blow Fuse. Cost me £0.30.

 

[rowdy141]

When circuit boards were relatively new in cars, in the late 1970's, we had an Engine Management Control Board in our car.
It failed, the dashboard lit up like a Christmas Tree, and the car wouldn't run or even start. The AA Mechanic pulled the module out and the car ran perfectly. He suggested we buy another module, but they were very expensive. So we left it off. The car ran fine for another eight years. You can't leave them off in today's cars.

 

[dysonman1]

Circuit boards were added to vacuums to reduce cost for the manufacturer. Consider the Filter Queen. Before circuit boards, the Lamb 2 fan 5 wire, 2 speed motor was connected to a switch, cord, and Hi-Low speed switch. Once circuit boards came out, the motor became a single fan, one speed motor who's speed was controlled by the board. It's all about cheapening the machine.

When I worked at the tacony factory, we replaced tons of circuit boards that failed. Heat and dirt are the enemies of circuit boards. Especially in the tandem air models. I hate working on them anyway, but to have to remove the million screws because a board failed (and it was a complete tear down to replace it) was hell for me.

Whenever I start a sales pitch, I normally say "and this machine does NOT have a circuit board" because I hate fixing machines with failed boards. To be honest, the only machines I saw with a recurring failure of boards was the first 2 speed Rainbows and almost all tandem air vacuums.

 

[madman]

I'll second everything Paulg said.

Modern circuit boards and their base components are incredibly reliable. Electronics in general are, in fact. These things have evolved so much since the invention of the transistor. We have parts now that are a hundred times better than what was available even just 20 years ago, and cost so little that a child could afford to buy them... by the pound.

But of course, like literally any other part of a machine, a circuit board is only as good as the person who designed it. Parts that intentionally enforce planned obsolescence are the exception, not the rule. Like any new technology, there will be people who swear it's evil. Then there are those who understand it, and will tell you that it's simply another part of the machine.

Granted, there's always that line between what should and should not be computerized. I think that line varies by person.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

very

well-put!