How Dyson reinvented the hairdryer

The great British inventor has rejuvenated a host of otherwise humble household objects

The first thing that Stoffel van Wyk appreciated about his new Dyson hairdryer is how quiet it is. These days, he says: “I can have a discussion with my client over the sound of the hairdryer.” Van Wyk has been a hairdresser for 25 years.

“I’ve lost a bit of my hearing because of the constant droning of hairdryers. This is far less intrusive,” he tells the FM in his Sandton salon, Urban Sass.

The creator of the Dyson Supersonic Hairdryer, Sir James Dyson, is arguably the UK’S greatest modern-day inventor, having worked for decades to reinvent household objects such as the lowly vacuum cleaner.

When the technology firm named after him announced that it would manufacture a hairdryer, the public responded with huge derision, especially after the cost of the device was announced. It retails for R6,000 in SA.

But the firm has carved a niche for itself making high-end home gadgets that are exceptional.

Take the vacuum cleaner, which traditionally used a bag to catch dust. In 1978, Dyson was frustrated when a cleaner got clogged. He took it apart, realised the bag was the problem and set about making a better cleaner using an industrial cyclone that he had created to separate paint from air. He figured he could do the same with dust.

It took him five years and 5,127 prototypes to invent the world’s first bagless vacuum cleaner. The first models, dubbed G-force, were sold in Japan for a hefty $2,000 but were a hit.

He took those profits and formed his company in 1991. It now employs more than 12,000 people around the world.

Dyson has a long list of patents and accolades to his name, including a knighthood.

He then turned his inventor expertise to hand dryers in public bathrooms. These were launched in 2006 and prompted even more outrage from the UK public. But these touchless hand dryers, called Airblade, are really good at drying your hands, and are hygienic in a way no other bathroom option is — and they don’t waste paper towels.

Sure, Dyson’s product choices may seem bizarre. But they have all helped solve problems in the household.

His take on fans is no exception. Instead of using fan blades, the Dyson Air Multiplier (launched in 2009) forces air through an internal system and over an airline wingshaped surface. It’s a sci-fi-looking device with a smooth flow of air, and with later models — heated air (2011) — from a machine that makes very little noise and looks like it’s part of the International Space Station.

All these products were inspired by the original cyclone technology that Dyson invented in vacuum cleaners, with some impressive upgrades.

This brought Dyson to the hairdryer.

With no moving fan parts, the Dyson Supersonic Hairdryer is another gadget straight out of a sci-fi movie.

Dyson “has a passion for digital motors”, says Brett Coulton, a design engineer at the company.

“He’s been making them for 18 years.”

The engine that powers the hairdryer is, frankly, amazing. Conventional motors are too big for what Dyson had in mind, for a device that is small and compact. Dyson had to make the engine smaller but also more powerful than anything used in hairdryers before.

“We have to spin this little baby at five times faster than a Formula One car,” says Coulton, who worked on the hairdryer. “It spins at 110,000 revolutions per minute.”

The engineering challenges alone were significant, he says. “To get all of that to work in the hairdryer is challenging.

With this high-powered, super-fast motor,