DornerWorks

Industrial washer and dryer manufacturer Dexter wanted an IoT solution that would work for its commercial laundry business across multiple product lines, while providing a level of functionality within a certain price point.

Embedded technology developed for multiple lines of Dexter’s industrial washers and dryers could indeed connect the machines to the Internet of Things (IoT), but whether their products were ready to make that connection was another question.

Coming to DornerWorks, Dexter wanted to validate its product concerns through collaborative development. A number of different paths were followed and the development went through several rounds of requirements updates as Dexter determined their needs along the way.

DornerWorks engineers developed solutions for the display, graphics processing, communications, cloud connectivity, machine control, and sensors in the system, which provided a new standard of controls methodology the client could expand across its product line, and market at trade shows.

Our Solution

We developed a proof-of-concept and a functional prototype for the wireless sensor device in addition to redesigning the machine controller itself.

We implemented a high end ARM processor to handle all the general tasks and also to provide a quality user experience with the display. The design is modular to support all of their current products in a variety of ways.  We have designed the platform with component obsolescence in mind because of Dexter’s high standard for quality and life cycle.

Dexter gained a platform that allows a user to configure and monitor their machines from a mobile device, and pull critical insights from a cloud-based web page. This has set them apart from other commercial laundry vendors, and provided a much more delightful experience for technicians in the field.

The wireless laundry control solution allowed Dexter to leap-frog its competition in terms of user interface, electronic control platform, and web integration. The upgraded functionality also allows for scalability in a rapidly growing market.

Highlights

  • An upgrade from the previous 7-segment display to a 4.3” LCD
  • Real time control of the machine motor, burner, valves, relays, and other system components
  • Connectivity via USB, Ethernet, and CAN
  • Based on an NXP i.MX6 Solo X SOM, with DDR3 memory, SDcard slot, SPI, I2C, and an LVDS display