Latest machine generation tested at Miele's Lehrte plant

A temperature of 23°C, a steady relative humidity of 50%: These are the working conditions in the new label laboratory at Miele's Lehrte production plant. Test readings from commercial washing machines and tumble dryers are most effectively achieved under uniform and standardised conditions – as required by a new European standard which is to take effect shortly. In the case of water, the hardness and the pH value must also be precisely recorded - requirements met by Miele Professional's new test laboratory.

The label laboratory covers an area of 400 m² – and is three times larger than the previous test bay. The first products to undergo tests in the new facility, chock-a-block with the latest mensuration technology, were the new washing machines from the Performance and Performance Plus lines (cf. Press release 026/2017). Wash trials primarily revolve around how little water the machines can use without this being detrimental to cleaning performance and hygiene. 'This allowed us to reduce water consumption by 20%, resulting in significant knock-on energy savings', says lab manager Dr. Tim van Zoest.

The technology required placed the highest demands on mensuration and test equipment even during the development phase. Take for example the innovative oval-shaped outer drum and the EcoSpeed process technology which operates with intermittent changes in drum speed. 'The setup for measurements this requires can be reproduced better in our new laboratory than previously', van Zoest continues.

Equally complex was the challenge of guaranteeing uniform ambient conditions both summer and winter, from room climate through to the temperature of the water supply. The effort required in compensating for seasonal fluctuations when performing series of tests will be completely eliminated in future, explains Marianne Röhl, responsible for application technology on laundry machines.

Planning and designing the air-conditioning system installed in a neighbouring room which now ensures precise and constant temperatures and humidity was the result of close team work involving specialists from Miele's works department in Gütersloh and the Lehrte plant. The same facilities also generate the steam which is available in the laboratory at three of the seven test racks – and, like the power supply, can be flexibly adjusted to suit machine requirements. This allows machines destined for a wide range of markets and applications to be tested.

For a compliant water supply, tap water is converted into water for testing purposes in a sophisticated treatment process before it is fed into the machines. 'The provisional European standard PrEN 50640, which will presumably be passed this year, demands this', says Marianne Röhl.

The team in the label laundry already implements all the provisions of the new standard which textiles must comply with prior to testing – through to test soils such as soot, cacao or curry. 'The standard is likely to impose even higher demands on manual measurements of wash performance', says lab manager van Zoest. This, too, has already been taken on board by Miele in Lehrte. Van Zoest: 'Not only do we want to offer our customers first-class and reliable technology, we want to give them future-proof test results here and now'.
 

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Company profile: Miele is the world's leading manufacturer of premium domestic appliances including cooking, baking and steam-cooking appliances, refrigeration products, coffee makers, dishwashers and laundry and floor care products. This line-up is augmented by dishwashers, washer-extractors and tumble dryers for commercial use as well as washer-disinfectors and sterilisers for use in medical and laboratory applications (Miele Professional). The Miele company, founded in 1899, has 8 production plants in Germany as well as one plant each in Austria, the Czech Republic, China and Romania. 2015/16 turnover amounted to approx. EUR 3.71 bn with sales outside Germany accounting for around 70%. Miele is represented with its own sales subsidiaries and via importers in almost 100 countries. The Miele company, now in the fourth generation of family ownership, employs a workforce of around 19,100, 10,800 thereof in Germany. The company headquarters are located in Gütersloh/Westphalia, Germany.