Inside the new 2020 Airwick unit. (With 1 Volt microcontroller!)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ต.ค. 2024
- Between the weird microcontroller with integrated boost converter and a spectacularly complex 3D moulding, this humble air freshener is an education in cost optimisation. The grey moulding inside could be classed as art.
I thought this was going to be an easy video to make. Especially when I saw the minimalist PCB. But it had me puzzling for a while. I haven't a clue who makes that weird microcontroller. It's the first time I've seen one with a boost converter built in.
In hindsight the choice of the switching components may have been down to the drive voltage. The discrete transistors are getting a solid 5V gate current, but the positive pair can only be pulled down to near 0V from the battery supply which is between 1 and 1.5V, and that would be a very low gate current if it's a MOSFET.
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So much engineering time has gone into something so simple, never would have thought it!
It's definitely not what you'd think, these guys were just killing time with the rib tool. 80 percent of what you see are standard functions of most modern CAD programs that, if you're familiar with take seconds to apply to a model. The whole thing flexes when operating, it's not at all mechanically optimized. They were given dimensions and a parts list and told to make it fit with X amount of plastic, and the first one that didn't snap and pumped reliably went straight to production. That's it, no other thought went into it.
@@c4pt1n54no i think what he means is the over-complexity of the gearbox and the top plastic molding, i could be wrong though, i don't read minds
I've never been a fan of pine scented air fresheners either. I think my dislike dates back to the days when air fresheners were mainly used in toilets to cover up certain smells! Going in to our bathroom at home always smelt like someone had crapped a pine tree.
Having worked in the chemical side of the sanitation industry it is pretty well known that pine scent and urine smell mix is far worse than either one individually. Some people are stuck on using pine sol to clean bathrooms and that combination really stinks.
I got a fake tree 2 years ago. I hid one of these in it to make people think it was a real one.
Пппппппппеенннннееееееееееееееееееппррролдрррррриоррррррррррррррррооооооооо
@@G56AG ррррррррррррррририрррроооооорррррорррррроорооо
All the technology and work that goes into a simple everyday item like this is just taken for granted until it's taken apart like this. Great video big Clive, as usual.
Cheapo sci calculators are more impressive imo
For a moment there I slipped into a state of existential weirdness in that so much creativity and effort went into designing and manufacturing something that is what it is.
I must say it is really well designed for what it is, and yet still as few components as possible.
I always admired how air wick units were made , their products always seem to have some engineering beauty behind them .
I've learnt loads since I started watching all your backdated vids. I had forgotten so much since I left college ...but after watching you reverse engineer all these gizmos....things have begun to come out of the dark depths of my grey cells. :)
If you remember more than just pot-noodles, daytime T. V. and unfinished assignments... Then you're doing pretty well
I wonder if the guys who design these type of things watch bigclive to see a review of their work?
I know I would
Yes we do.
@EK89 You are right. However, business people are "allowed" to have access to it. I have a friend in Shanghai and she is able to access anything that I can- including Facebook. I follow a couple of TH-cam channels that come right off of the mainland.
Why do you think the closures are getting harder to open?
I really hope the engineers/mechanical designers who worked on this see this video - would totally make their day :)
Some of the newer fresheners have changed their plunger mechanism so that generic (i.e. less expensive ) cans won't fit any more. Of course, you can just take the nozzle off the previous can and fit it to the new, generic one but it's a little more of a hassle.
From (unintentional?) "more than meets the eye" to a full Megatron impression. Nice.
I can hear champagne corks popping & something of a party going on at the head office of Reckitt Benckiser!
And what's that chant they shouting while they conga line around the executive car park?
"Bi-ig Clive likes it! Bi-ig Clive likes it! Tara la la. Tara la la!"
Every time I hear someone mention a microhenry there are 2 things that come to mind.
1) If I ever invent or discover something, I'm definitely naming it after myself.
2) Microhenry would be a good nickname for a kid named Henry with a dad named Henry. Instead of Henry Jr or something just call him Micro Henry.
If he had a daughter he could call her Milli Henry.
I have a giant dog named Henry, he is beautiful, with big expressive brown eyes. We call him Handsome Henry. Women just about melt when they meet him!
@@therealjammit Our local Vet's daughter is named Millicent Henry - so not that uncommon a combination!
imagine the smell in the room he was doing this in after the many blasts of freshener. instant headache.
Make a fire-breathing version for the livestream!
Finally. A design like this can clamp down on regular cans of cheaper air freshener. All you need is the nozzle that fits. When cheap fragrances are $1 a can and the spray cans meant for this are $4, yeah. Misusing it is essential.
"Spread the joy with festive pi-iiine, fa la la la laa, la la la laaaaa!!!", sorry, couldn't help myself with that one... :P
This must be the UK version which lacks the automatic ignition feature. I think I spotted the unpopulated footprint for a potted HV module at 16:03.
I have to ask what is that time stamp referring to since there is no 16:03?
@@ucitymetalhead TH-cam might block this part of the video when being watched in a jurisdiction where flame-throwing air fresheners are banned.
@@maurice_walker is this for real; where do I set my vpn to get it? 😂
Google's tracking is really creepy. It knows if you're using a VPN or not.
Ignition is unnecessary with (in)appropriate cannisters. Zyklon would be a most inappropriate cannister, and quite incompatible.
In America, the nozzole on the refills are also angled up but still has a black circle in the center. The spray still makes a hissing sound rather than a short burst when it's pressed down
In pre-19th century, there was this notion that things like pottery, or art not being made by fancy academia-taught artists might be neat but not worthy of any special look. Looking at something like that thingy, with complicated plastic molding and engineering, i wonder if we are having the same ignorance when it comes to a lot of ordinary day-to-day stuff, with the names of the designers and engineers hidden and the whole design kinda not being thought about and not appreciated.
That's called alienation. You are alienated from the creators of these consumer goods, and they are alienated from their creations. The exchange of goods and services has been largely divorced from any sort of human relationship and replaced by a sterile exchange of cash.
@@chancekahle2214 We're even losing that, being divorced from a physical interpretation of wealth, and into a generation whose existence is solely based on machines and encrypted data. A fragile existence where one failure in the chain can set off a cascade where people are unable to pay for food, as exchange malfunctions via a lack of technology which facilitates it.
>Implying amateur art is worthy to look at today
">Implying amateur art is worthy to look at today" this is being commented replying to a comment of an artist
Hope to see a vid modding this version like you did with version 1. (I tried doing that mod myself actually; and it did work for a time! Although it looked very different from yours ..I had to use a lot more hot glue and tape to keep it in one piece)
Very well designed and manufactured. Nice!
Well done friend the exercise is marvellous both in terms of presentation and engineering skills-Thanks a lot Clive.
I don’t understand if engineering but TH-cam suggested me this video and about to sleep I watched the whole thing...I’m now inclined to buy it just for the good work someone put into designing it.
Agreed, those with asthma, migraines and hyperosmia will be happy for yet another home they will be forced to avoid.
I had a few of the original ones, including the "limited" edition black one. Not sure if I took any with me when I moved. The first gen had a hinged front that tilted down.
Thats the type I kind of did Clives swap with. Only diffeeence is that I teansferred the whole board from the light sensitive and jusg rewirdd the output to thd big device motor....then hack the case. It works and I owe it to Clive.
I'd love to see the mold for the super complex plastic part, and know how that was made. Maybe a metal 3D printed mold insert?
I wonder if they still use spark erosion as they did in the old days?
@@peterwhite51 Of course they do. It's called sinker EDM.
14:30 Could the disparity be caused by needing more power to engage then to retract?
Doesn't the current flow through one P-channel and one N-channel MOSET in either motor direction? So the chip would engaged equally both for engaging and disengaging.
A computer in a consumer air freshener. Amazing how far tech has come! Ya think one of these micros, or one of the Padauks, could outperform the Apollo Guidance Computer?
I love this one with a light
That great box is interesting. Four stages of reduction, with the last being a sector gear, I think. The mold work for that grey piece must have been quite impressive.
Those slide switches often have very odd contact arrangements, eg there positions connecting 1-2, 2-3, and 3-4.
I'm guessing it was a 3D CAD design that just got fine tuned as the product evolved. It's all very neat.
My guess for the reason behind the switch to a single battery is that it makes it feel like it's more efficient and cheaper to run.
Does that 3.9k resistor set the clock speed? Some of these have a switch where you can change how often they spray, having a pin on the chip for that would be efficient.
Excellent idea. For more $ they could have a sliding pot to adjust more or less sprays.
I would have loved to see the face of the injection mold maker when they laid eyes on the blueprint of this one - "...you want me to EDM WHAT?!?"
I was curious as to whether that could be replicated using a 3-D printer.
Mega-Clive-a-tron Transforms into a pound shop screw driver with LED eye effect. 😂
Single led, or Larsen scanner style I wonder?
I do really like the fact that they switched to using a single battery.
@Dave Micolichek I actually do this more often than that, since I prefer rechargeable ones, and I don't like when I have to spend my time controlling each one's capacity to pick a perfect set of them.
Could the excess force applied to the plunger at 6:49 be a sneaky trick to waste the propellant in the non-compatible cans? This would force consumers into using the expensive official cans to get acceptable life out of a can.
9:55 ~ I WILL GET YOU, UNPLEASANT AROMAS ~
I wonder if the mystery parallel capacitors on the 5V and the 3.9k resistor are used to set the timing of how often it sprays and how long to run the motor? Or does that 100 Ohm trace detect the resistance when the motor "bottoms out"? Either way, this thing is super cool!
Great Video Big Clive
I might be wrong but I believe Q1 ia a generic dual P-Channel + N-Channel mosfet in sot23-6 package not two P-Channel ones. The reason they didn't use another dual P-Channel + N-Channel mosfet for the other half of the H bridge driver is probably pcb layout. It was probably easier to route it by using two separate mosfets. Q3 that is marked SP is a P-Channel mosfet called BSS84. At 14:40 I believe you mixed source and drain. Drain goes to motor and source to power rails. Over all an understandable and enjoyable video. Thank you
The anti-tobacco is orange, pine, and juniper berry. They use those scent profiles because they're very good at covering the complex profile of tobacco. Rather than cover it up through brute force, they selected terpines that would complement and mold the tobacco into something more tolerable.
This video is awesome! Thanks for all the information :D
One half of the H-Bridge circuity is probably using discrete transistors due to the motor drawing much more current during the down stroke on the nozzle, then needing very little current to rise back up.
Quite possible to drill out an empty cannister and epoxy in a rerfilable valve. Considering how much airwick charge for their refills it makes economical sense. Unless youre refilling with paco robanne or similar
The new one I've just taken apart the motor is wired, I suppose cheaper doing it that way than the metal clips.
An ingenious piece of kit, I wonder if you can get pub / brewery air freshener re-fills to give you the authentic atmosphere of what some of us have been missing for a few months?
For a silly plastic bit that sprays chemicals in your home at an interval, that is an astoundingly good soldering job. I was expecting regular China garbage with dangerously bad soldering. Nice.
"Finger hole" and "spread the joy" in 1 video.
I saw recently 'cost optimised' led tealight. There's only springy metal inside that bridges led contact and piece of plastic sliding on another molded piece of plastic. battery cover doubles as that plastic holder. So basically the whole light is a switch for the led.
Dude great vid. I'm really interested in the sensor mod, although I can't find the vid. Is there any chance you would put a link to it in the comments please?
1 whole volt. Respect.
Just bought one... Wondered what was inside it 😜 thanks Clive
Unbelievable that there's more technology in an Airwick unit than in Apollo 11 from 1969 😁
I dont like how they've reduced the batteries to 1. You'd have to replace them twice as often, then. It's not like they've substantially made the unit smaller or anything. Even if they don't include a battery it would be nice to have spots for 2.
comes with its own supermans home city, minus a jar
Very neat, but I can't help but wonder if the air freshener is going to get the motion sensor upgrade?
Is this going to be one of the DIY flamethrowers in the next stream?
If there is no new feature listed on the package then you don't need to tear it down to figure out why they redesigned it . It was done to make it cheaper. There's really only two reasons to improve a product, to reduce costs or to add features to justify an increased price. I know you need to get clicks though.
The switch will use ground, Vcc and no connect simply to save on pins. It's a common way to save on inputs. You can turn on am internal pull-up, detect the pin state, then turn on an internal pull down. If the pin stays high, it was pulled up. If it stays low it was pulled down. If it toggles, it was unconnected. So read 3 values with one pin. Saves money.
The next level up was common in Japanese products of the 80s and 90s. Like Sony CD players. They would use a little resistor latter to read multiple buttons. Knowing that it was invalid to press more than one at once. They could read 5 buttons on one pin this way, although 3 or 4 was far more common. 5 was often used in the "disc 1-5" buttons on a Sony 5-disc CD changer though. The entire 5 buttons would be on a subassembly that was attached to the front panel with only two tires to it back to the control board. Any other method would mean more wires, more inputs. Nowadays you might just put a small serializer (even a microcontroller) on that subassembly.. That'd require 3 wires still, although if you used a OneWire type protocol you'd only need .... two. I never understood the naming there.
1 battery for convenience (esp given they have the easy removal space). what's the gear reduction ratios? Looks like a great setup to push a mechanical doorbell
How do I send something to Clive? I've got a philips hue filament that is misbehaving. As much I would enjoy putting too much voltage through it, I'd like clive to "open" it 😄
OK Big Clive - I give up, where did you purchase this unit?
Can't find it on Amazon & it's not on the Airwick UK website!
Great video by the way, very interesting moulding!
It was in the local supermarket here on the Isle of Man.
@@bigclivedotcom Thanks!
Love taking things apart to see how it works !!! Saved me from this particular item !!! 😎😉☺
with 5V gate drive you could switch 1.5V also with NMOS devices on the high side. And to me the FETs look somehow cross connected and I know 2N7002 as dual N channel devices. Are you sure that this is not a 4* N channel H-bridge?
Absolutely I'd use all N channel. The P channel performance would be really iffy at 1.5V or less gate-to-source voltage, but with an N channel and 3.5V gate-to-source voltage the performance would be much better - could probably use a significantly smaller die size.
There is additional evidence if we look at the H bridge in the schematic. It shows Q1 as P channel, with pin 4 controlling pin 1, and pin 6 controlling pin 3. That requires the connections inside Q1 to cross over each other, which is implausible. However if Q1 is N channel then pin 4 controls pin 3, and pin 6 controls pin 1. This is much more plausible.
Ultimately the only conclusive tests are electrical, but fortunately there's at least one test that's easy to do. The mixed N and P channel design has no "off" state, so when the motor is stopped its pins will be driven either both high or both low. The all N channel design has an "off" state which is the only way to stop the motor, so when the motor is stopped its pins will be floating (not driven either high or low).
I always love the super complex and yet simple designs. They are always the most impressive!
That wasn't a bad Megatron impression! ;)
I love the new one
oh sick, you could totally put in a mini 4wd tamiya motor into that thing! (don't actually do that though)
Nice :) I like the freshmatic xpress
Man, the most important part at 5:41 you skipped past how you actually got the motor out. Im trying to fix my sprayer but you didnt show when and how you actually got the piece out. please explain, thank you
@jimmy swag He shows taking the two screws out of the motor (gear side) and it just slides out WITH the circuit board.
Does it go down to 0.9V?
That is something we should pressure manufacturers on so we can use our NiMHs.
(plus use our alkalines fully)
It seems to work on a NiMh, which should maintain 1.2V for most of the discharge.
I discovered if you draw a black line on the side of the white nozzle the genuine body can use compatible aerosols.
I did that too, after spotting the infrared sensor.
I find mine makes a clunky noise….am investigating to see if I can quieten t! Great product though!
I think the design was created for easy construction but not meant to be taken apart.
It could have been simplified if they'd used two 1.5v cells... With one lug of the motor at midpoint between the two cells and the other driven as a half bridge instead of a full bridge by the MCU. The 5v boost may also not be needed. Perhaps they'd tried this simpler design and it didn't work for some reason...
If this is Big C Live, I'd dare to see Big C pre-recorded.
It's actually Big Clive.
@@bigclivedotcom :-O!
Hate those things. Can give you a heart attack when you're going for a piss at 3AM.
Was intrigued by the title, which promised a 1V microcontroller. Where's the 1V micro?
Hey. Great work thanks for the video. My airwick trying to go to the opposite direction for ever. Is it possible to do something ?
Looks better.
This might explain why I had to put a black dot on the new cannister nozzle with our old airwick two battery unit. The new nozzle has slightly different shape and our old machine would error after it pressed the nozzle.
Hey Clive, If I sent you a peak dca75, would you desolder the unknown 2-4 pin chips and identify them with it ? keep up the grrreat work, thumbs up.
I'm guessing the processor with integrated boost converter is so specialist it might not be identifiable.
@@bigclivedotcom I was thinking of the small discretes, but you're already doing a great job to demystifying them. perhaps to tell some parameters of them instead of just some n-chan mosfet. giving some insight to what you can get away with in these designs.
the complex grey city, add some leds and a battery ? maybe add dome with fluorescent ....
make the white tube rotate and some lights inside
PMG what's is inside this wow what a channel
Over here in ‘muriga “pound land” has some other connotations. Ask AvE, he’d tell ya.
I think manufacturers should start assembling things that need a special key to get inside and then send one of the keys to Clive!
I think he already has a few of those universal keys! :)
Good video but why you skip how you took it out ??
Just out of curiosity.....can you hide dinosaur embryos in them?
Are those scents flammable? Imagine a smoker walking past one of these things, lighting a cig at just the wrong moment..
Yes they are.
Don't you think they used such weird set for H-bridge because wanted to simplify PCB?
That explains why my girlfriend just got one of the old ones at a really good price.... what with them being obsolete now and all.
They've been trying to sell off the "mulled wine" units since Xmas.
Hmmm.. odd.. both models are unknown to me.. here they only sell the black ones with a hinged front.. without the optic gate n red diode..
I've just subbed to the $3 tier. Already worth the money.
Hello I have automatic spray from glade is it possible to change timer or use it on manual they are 4 settings 9 16 36 and off the problem is when I have it off manual mode it doesn't work it's completely off to use it manually I have to enable one of the timer settings for is it possible to change something in the board? I have a picture of the pcb if I can sent it somewhere
It's all locked in software, so you may have to redesign the circuitry.
I'd like to know longevity of the batteries does it last as long as the 2 battery one?
no, it doesn't
@@userPrehistoricman Maybe not but it has the convenience of being just that tiny bit easier to replace.
They made it hard to drill and pop-out because they seen your video's (Hacking) their air fresheners and did that because of you .. 🙂😁
I bet Airwick loves you for your engineering comments and promotion!
Not sure if promotion helps those with asthma, migraines and hyperosmia.
Just bought one... it's not working.... is it repairable? Are there replacing PCB's available?
Please, how many minute intervals are each of the toggle gear settings?
Looks like you are in front of the US market, Airwick isn't showing anything like the new unit on Airwick US website, just the older 2 battery model. Personally the new one is a lot betting looking, probably better engineered.
Lmfao I will get you optimus Prime @9:55
I'm guessing the 3k9 resistor sets the output voltage generated by the MCU?
Cross-bred two different air fresheners... ha ha ha!