Simon Peall

University of Nottingham > Engineering > Departments > Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering > PDM Exhibitions > 2025 > BEng students > Simon Peall

The SonoBasket is a supplementary laundry appliance aiming to tackle the environmental issues created from the traditional laundry process.

I chose PDM because of my love for making things, I am creative person who is always looking for new things to make and hobby projects to pursue. I felt that PDM would give me the breadth of skills needed to realise my hobbies but also to follow a career path I could be passionate about. Depending on the type of project, I get passionate about different stages, but generally I am most interested in CAD modelling and prototyping. In the early stages of projects my drawings are a lot looser and personal, so I struggle to feel confident sharing them until something more concrete has been developed. My favourite parts of projects is always when I have something physical to hold or see, when it starts to feel real. Handing off concepts to another person/team to continue does not satisfy me in the same way.

The type of career I’m looking for is to be part of something new and innovative inhouse where I can really dive into the technical details and make a difference in a company. I was lucky to experience that in my year in industry at DOCK-Y and now that I’ve felt that, I think it would be hard for me to work in a more restrictive environment. I also want to be a part of the whole process, not just a piece.

Simon Peall, BEng Product Design and Manufacture with Year in Industry

SonoBasket - A compact ultrasonic clothes washing machine

The SonoBasket is a supplementary laundry appliance aiming to tackle the environmental issues created from the traditional laundry process. The two ways it tackles this is:

Reducing the microparticulate matter released into the environment from washing by utilising ultrasonic technology which causes less degradation per wash.

Less degradation leads to clothes lasting longer meaning less are thrown away into landfill.

My solution fits into the user’s home as a replacement for a laundry basket, this has the effect of also reducing the amount of clothing clutter a person might have in their home. By using the SonoBasket instead of placing them in a laundry basket, the user can have their clothes washed overnight ready for the next day, no “half-worn” clothes need be kept around. It also neatly fits within their established routine, the user does not need to go out of their way to use the appliance, there is only once a week maintenance of replenishing the tank with clean water.

Additionally, the SonoBasket can be used in few more ways that might be useful day to day. For example, as a preparatory step before placing a garment in the washing machine, tough stains can be lifted using the stain removal programme. Instead of going to the dry cleaners to wash a suit or woollen item, the gentler washing and drying cycles allow for those types of garments to be washed at home for cheaper. Hand wash items can also easily be washed with far less manual labour.