With its transparent case and microwave-size dimensions, it’s easy to mix up the Heatworks Tetra for one of the numerous tabletop consumer 3D printers sporting a similar design these days. But Tetra’s purpose isn’t additive like a printer, it’s subtractive: a compact kitchen appliance designed to wash dishes with a minimal amount of water and time.
Sculpted and engineered in partnership with Frog Design, the Tetra’s compact dimensions are made possible by Heatwork’s previous efforts producing the Model 3 tankless water heater. Using the same tankless technology that permits abandoning traditional heating elements for graphite electrodes (Ohmic Array technology), the Tetra is able to heat water with greater precision and efficiency using only half a gallon of water and 10 minutes for a full cycle cleaning.
“Our research indicates that although the average household is comprised of 2.58 people, the modern dishwasher holds place settings for 13 or more. This makes people believe that they either need to handwash their few dirty dishes — which wastes 10 times more water than using a dishwasher — or wait for a fill load to run a cycle. With Tetra, we hope to change people’s mindset.” -Jerry Callahan, CEO and founder of Heatworks
The Tetra’s capacity holds two full place settings or 10 plates or 12 pint glasses – all visible through its 3/4 clear top sitting on top of the stainless steel base. The more eyebrow raising claims are related to its extended capabilities: “sanitizing baby products, washing plastic storage containers without melting, cooking seafood, or cleaning fruit”. In other words, the Tetra might become the first cooking appliances also capable of washing up after dinner.
Tetra will cost under $300 and will be available for purchase in late 2018.
