Door

This washing machine, being a front loading design, has a door that opens outwards. Its purpose is to keep the cleaning fluids as well as the clothes within the machine from spilling out. The door is made of (HDPE) high density polyethylene

The door itself is made from multiple distinct parts:

Glass bowl
Plastic frame
Latch

Glass Bowl

The bowl of the washing machine door is held between the two layers of the door without any connecting pieces going through the door itself, and it is kept in place thanks to the slightly extruded rim of the bowl slotting into the gap between the two layers of plastic. The purpose of this part of the door is to prevent the water and cleaning fluids from spilling out, as well as to allow the user to see inside the machine letting them know whether it is in use.

The manufacturing method used in the glass bowl of the washing machine door is simply molding it into the desired shape while it is still in a molten state from having been turned into glass.

Borosilicate Glass

The specific type of glass the bowl is made from is borosilicate glass, and the key reason for this is so that the glass will not shatter due to the thermal shock (rapid change in temperature) from the water inside the machine. Because normal glass expands and contracts under exposure to heat, it tends to crack easily. However, borosilicate glass has a very low coefficient of thermal expansion (it expands a negligible amount) and so it does not crack under exposure to changes in temperature.

A video on the manufacturing process of borosilicate glass can be seen below.

Plastic Frame

The plastic frame is partially present for aesthetics, but its functional purpose is to hold the glass bowl in place and to allow the latch to work properly by providing a fulcrum for the lever to release the latch.

The process used in manufacturing this part of the door to the washing machine is done by simply using a mold and casting it into the desired shape.

Phenol Formaldehyde (PF)

Phenol formaldehyde is a thermoset plastic, used in billiard balls and laboratory countertops. Phenol formaldehyde has very good heat and chemical resistance along with electrical insulation, durability and heat/flame resistance. When it burns, it releases only a small amount of smoke.

A high chemical and heat resistance coupled with durability makes phenol formaldehyde a suitable material for a door that keeps hot water and detergents in.

A video on the process of phenol formaldehyde resin being prepared can be seen below.

Latch

The latch is a metal hook that keeps the washing machine door closed. The hook has a 90 degrees that allows it to stop the door from opening when the machine is in use. Pressing down a lever turns the hook a little away from the door, allowing the latch to come free from where it was latched on, thus letting the door open.

The latch was probably made through being die casting, as its shape is a simple one and would be easy to do with that method.

Galvanized Steel

The metal parts of the casing are made of galvanized steel that has been powder coated white. Hot dip galvanizing has been performed, where the metal is dipped in a bath of molten zinc, as opposed to electrogalvanizing where the process involves electroplating Zinc on steel. This type of galvanizing creates a coat of Zinc 5-10x thicker that can last 34 to 170 years. Galvanized steel grants resistance to rust and, to a certain extent, resistance to other chemical corrosion.

A video on the process of steel being galvanized can be seen below.

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