Milk Frother Disassembly

IKEA Milk Frother ($2.49)

This milk frother is supposed to be able to froth milk in 15 – 20 seconds however when I tested it, it took about 30 seconds to significantly increase the volume. Compared to the other IKEA milk frothers that my other group members tested however, mine performed very well. The other two took at least a minute to increase the volume and one could barely do even this. These varying levels of success indicates the milk frother’s poor quality. In terms of affordances, mapping and feedback, this milk frother had no exceptional problems. There was a switch to turn the frother on and off that used familiar mapping (pushing the switch up turned the device on and down, off). Visual feedback was immediate so if the milk wasn’t increasing in volume it was obvious that the device wasn’t working and it was clear how to hold the frother. Despite the fact that there weren’t any instructions, this milk frother was very easy to use. The frother that I had did its job satisfactorily and the simplicity of the device was great. However, the fact that not all the IKEA frothers could do the same is definitely a weakness. By disassembling this product I learned about the main parts that go into a simple device like this. I was actually surprised at the simplicity of the design.

Bodum Milk Frother ($9.99)

This milk frother claimed to take 25-30 seconds however when I tested it took 50 seconds to increase the volume of milk the same amount that the IKEA one did. Although it took longer, compared to the IKEA milk frother, the device was much quieter, smoother and did not splatter the milk as much. Similar to the IKEA one, this device had no problems with affordances and feedback. However, in terms of battery installation the mapping was very poorly done. It took us about five minutes to figure out how to remove the battery cover as there weren’t any clear indications on how to do so. This is definitely one of the weaknesses of the product. Its sleek look in addition to the aforementioned quieter functioning are definite strengths. Like with the IKEA milk frother I learned about what goes into making a simple device like this but I also realized that despite significant price differences, the parts that go into the different devices are very similar.

Both milk frothers had very similar parts although my group members and I came to the agreement that the Bodum milk frother had a slightly better quality spring and wand. However, we didn’t think that this was enough to account for the price difference. To summarize, the IKEA milk frother operated more quickly while the Bodum milk frother operated more smoothly (but also had poor mapping). Taking all this and the prices into account I would buy the IKEA milk frother over the Bodum one time and time again. Although the IKEA frother was not as smooth or as sleek as the Bodum one it performed its primary function better. The Bodum milk frother took too long and its smooth operating does not make up for it. Although not all IKEA milk frothers performed to the same standard with the money I’d save by buying the IKEA product I could buy three milk frothers and use the one that performed the best and still not spend as much money as I would have if I bought a Bodum device. (One thing that we couldn’t test but that is important to consider when buying such a device is how long each device would last. If there was a significant difference between the operating lives of the two it would definitely play a role in deciding which one to buy.)

List of  Disassembled Parts