Design and development of an automatic ironing machine part II

Ironing is a much dreaded yet necessary household chore. This project aims to provide a low cost and fast alternative solution to ironing that requires minimal human intervention. The automated machine will be able to perform de-wrinkling tasks at a press of a button from the user. The automated machine dewrinkles fabrics through a panel of pressured steam nozzles. Clothes are first loaded into the steam chamber and pressured steam from the panel of nozzles is directed straight at the clothes. The main factors responsible for de-wrinkling the fabric are moisture, heat and tension. To find out the optimal conditions for de-wrinkling fabric, experiments were conducted for varying pressure, varying distance from the steam nozzles, varying steaming duration and different type of fabrics. Experiments done with the prototype yielded encouraging results. For most of the commonly available fabrics such as cotton, nylon, silk, polyester and wool, standards of de-wrinkling up to 80% is achievable. For denim, results are not as good, achieving only about 60% of de-wrinkling. Experiments of fabrics held loosely without tension were also done. Results proved that tension is necessary in de-wrinkling fabrics.Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering