The James Dyson Foundation Engineering Box – Lesson 3

Carbon Fiber Turbine Tool Disassembly Steps and Questions

Steps / Questions
STEP 1
Start with the turbine head floor tool
The first step is to look at the turbine head and how it fits onto the vacuum cleaner. / Q: How have the engineers solved the problem of where to store the machine’s tools?
Q: What are the main components of the turbine head? What are the components made of?
Q: How does it fit on the machine?
Q: Why is the turbine head detachable from the hose and wand?
STEP 2
Detach the turbine head from the wand
Detach the turbine head from the wand by pressing the release button / Q: Compare it with the other accessories—what are they all for?
Q: Look at the hose. What material is it made of and why is it appropriate for the hose?
STEP 3
Unlock the brushbar endcap
Look for the silver on/off button on the side of the tool. Near it is a fastener marked with a padlock. Undo this by using a coin to loosen the fastener and then remove the endcap. / Q: The engineers have chosen to use a quarter-turn fasteners rather than a screw. Why do you think that is?
STEP 4
Remove the brush bar
Take the purple end of the brush bar from the open end of the duct cover and pull the brush bar out. / Q: What do you think the brush bar is for?
Q: Why are there two types of brushes on the brush bar? Why do you think they’re different colors and made of different materials?
STEP FIVE:
Remove duct cover
Turn the turbine head upside down. On the left side is a gap between the brushbar housing and the rest of the vacuum head. You’ll notice that the brushbar housing and soleplate pivot on an axle here. While pushing the clear brushbar housing toward the right side, insert a coin into the gap and pry the brushbar housing out. You might need to use a bit of force to pry this out. / Q: Look at the rollers on the bottom of the soleplates. Why do you think they are covered in felt?
Q: Why is the brushbar housing transparent? Do you know what time of plastic it is made from?
STEP SIX:
Remove the turbine
Use the T10 torx screwdriver to remove three screws from the underside of the cleaner head, then use a flathead screwdriver to remove the grey turbine cover. You’ll need to firmly push it away from the cleaner head neck.
At the drive side of the cleaner head, remove the single T10 screw visible from the outside. Firmly pry the grey side apart from the black drive chassis. You should be able to remove the whole drive assembly from the cleaner head.
Remove the three black screws from the turbine assembly, near the grey “on/off” switch. You’ll need to use a smaller T8 torx screwdriver for this part – keep the T8 screws separately, so they don’t get mixed up.