A summary account of James Dysons' creative process involved in the invention and development of the cyclone vacuum cleaner

Roy, Robin

English

Open Research Online (The Open University)

Open Research OnlineThe Open University’s repository of research publicationsand other research outputsA Story of Innovation: The Cyclone Vacuum CleanerInvented by James DysonOtherHow to cite:Roy, Robin (2016). A Story of Innovation: The Cyclone Vacuum Cleaner Invented by James Dyson. CreativeAcademic Magazine, UK.For guidance on citations see FAQs.c© 2016 Robin RoyVersion: Version of RecordLink(s) to article on publisher’s website:http://www.creativeacademic.uk/uploads/1/3/5/4/13542890/cam 4a.pdfCopyright and Moral Rights for the articles on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyrightowners. For more information on Open Research Online’s data policy on reuse of materials please consult the policiespage.oro.open.ac.uk 98 CREATIVE ACADEMIC MAGAZINE Issue 4a April 2016  http://www.creativeacademic.uk A Story of Innovation:     The Cylone Vacuum Cleaner Invented by James Dyson Robin Roy Robin is (Emeritus) Professor of Design and Environment at the Open University.  He joined the University in 1971 and chaired and contributed to many courses on design, innovation and environment. His current interests are ecological design and sustainable development. He has written widely on these and related subjects. While James Dyson was developing his on Ballbarrow invention (wheelbarrow with ball wheel), the resin powder used to coat the metal parts of the Ballbarrow kept clogging the filtration system. Dyson was advised to install an industrial cyclone (similar to that used to remove dust from the air in sawmills and other industrial plant) to separate the fine powder from the air. While installing the cyclone James got the idea for a domestic cleaner that used the cyclone principle to separate the dust from dirty air. Although it may be argued that the cyclone cleaner idea arose by chance, it is significant that Dyson is always on the lookout for such ideas and ‘chance favours the prepared mind’. Dyson’s cyclone cleaner involved a mental transfer of technology from one      application to another - ‘We’re never original’ he observed, ‘there are always connections somewhere’. Dyson established the basic technical feasibility of his idea by testing a simple cardboard model cylone fitted to a conventional vacuum   cleaner and then considered the commercial potential of his invention before attempting to develop it....Conceiving the basic idea behind the cyclone cleaner was only the beginning of a lengthy research,   design and development process. Determining the precise shapes of the cyclones needed to efficiently separate coarse particles and fine dust entailed Dyson in making and testing many thousands of brass, aluminium and perspex models in his workshop. He argues that this empirical ‘cut and try’ approach was necessary because none of the theories about how cyclones worked could provide the answers he wanted. Nevertheless, other individuals might have attempted to  model the cyclone mathematically before proceeding to empirical ex-perimentation. The first protoypes, with two cyclones, one for particles and one for dust, placed side-by-side was built in 1981. This innovative design was an upright cleaner that did not clog or lose power as it filled with dust, was easy to empty and had a built-in retractable hose to    provide the functions of a cylinder vacuum cleaner. Its design involved Dyson’s combination of skills as inventor, engineer and industrial designer. Dyson showed his prototype cyclone cleaner to the two major UK manufacturers of vacuum clean-ers. Although keen to see his invention, these manufacturers were not willing to license it for production. Dyson believes that this rejection was partly due to the ‘not invented here’ syndrome and partly because such a radically new product  represented too great a risk and challenge to the established technology. Undeterred, Dyson conducted further design and development work and produced a completely new design with concentric cyclones plus other improved features (the ‘G-force vacuum cleaner’).  ‘The first UK-made Dyson Dual    Cyclone cleaner, the DC01, was launched in the UK in 1993, 15 years after the initial idea. The DC01 cleaner was commercially successful and quickly gained nearly a fifth of the British market. A cylinder       version, the DC02, soon followed and Dyson now runs a design-driven    business worth around £530 million which, as well as other products, has a number of new models in its    vac-uum cleaner range. The company continues to carry out the research and development needed to create new and improved technologies. This R&D work remains UK-based, but since 2002, to reduce costs and bring component suppliers closer to the factory, Dyson cleaners have been manufactured in Malaysia.’  99 CREATIVE ACADEMIC MAGAZINE Issue 4a April 2016  http://www.creativeacademic.uk He deliberately designed the product to be coloured pink to emphasis its innova-tiveness and made the cylone enclosure transparent so that customers would be able to observe the swirling dust particles. ‘From a market standpoint’, Dyson    argues, ‘if the product contains any new ideas then it is absolutely essential that the product be visually different’. This design was successfully licensed in 1986 to a Japanese manufacturer after an abortive contract involving a British, an Italian and a US firm. The US firm subsequently copied the cyclone cleaner, which forced    Dyson to combine the ability to conceive and develop technical inventions with the design skills to translate those inventions into attractive products. His particular approach to invention and creative design depends on getting ideas and solving problems when working with and observing physical objects, what Thring and Laithwaite call ‘thinking with the hands’, rather than by drawing or theorising.   Dyson says he almost never solves problems by getting ‘brainwaves in the bath’ - a classic psychological model of creativity - for him solutions come when ‘welding or hammering something in the workshop’. Dyson also believes that at the initial    concept stage of an invention or new design it is best not to be too expert because the innovator has to question established ideas. However, in order to develop an idea into something that works and can be economically manufactured it is usually necessary to become highly expert technically. He observed: ‘The more you get involved and study something in depth, the more creative ideas arise. You can’t create     marketable innovations as a amateur.’ Fortunately, acquiring the necessary in-depth expertise is not very      difficult when focussed on a finite problem and specific area of knowledge.  For Dyson, innovation is a matter of having good ideas based on experience and careful observation of the real world followed by hard work involving practical skills and technical expertise to convert that idea into a market-able product. References The article is an edited extract from Robin R (1993). Case studies of creativity in innovative product development. Design Studies, 14(4) pp. 423–443. Available on-line at http://oro.open.ac.uk/28441/1/CaseStudiesOfCreativity2.pdf Thring, M.W. and Laithwaite, E.R. (1977) How to invent, Macmillan, London, UK Consumer Product Innovation and Sustainable Design:      The Evolution and Impacts of Successful by Robin Roy The book follows the innovation and evolution of consumer products from vacuum cleaners to mobile phones from their original inventions to the present day. It discusses how environmental concerns and     legislation have influenced their design and the profound effects   these products have had on society and culture. This book also uses  the lessons from the successes and failures of examples of these     consumer products to draw out practical guidelines for designers,   engineers, marketers and managers on how to become more effective at product development, innovation and designing for       environmental sustainability. Readers might also be interested in the following OU modules in the Design and Innovation BA/B.Sc Hons degree http://www.open.ac.uk/courses/qualifications/q61 http://www.open.ac.uk/courses/modules/u101 http://www.open.ac.uk/courses/modules/t317 

A Story of Innovation: The Cyclone Vacuum Cleaner Invented by James Dyson

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A Story of Innovation: The Cyclone Vacuum Cleaner Invented by James Dyson

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