Utveckling av Husqvarna måttband : Produktutveckling av Husqvarnas måttband

Sammanfattning: Husqvarna is a company that currently focuses on outdoor products such as robotic lawnmowers, chainsaws, garden tractors and trimmers. The company also provide a great variety of accessories for professionals related to these products, including measuring tapes for forestry work. This thesis has identified problems linked to the measuring tape that Husqvarna delivers to customers and concepts on how these problems can be solved will be developed. The problems associated with the measuring tape are mainly three. One of these problems are that the measuring tape occasionally breaks. This problem can also be linked to one other problem which is that the measuring tape gets tangled in the branches or the trunk, this can cause it to break when the user tries to loosen it. A third problem is that the hook at the end of the measuring tape being difficult to attach to the trunk, especially at colder temperatures when the tree is frozen. The report covers measures taken to find solutions to these problems. The measures have been taken in consultation with methods that are part of the product development processes. A foundation in the method "Design thinking" was laid early in the work, this was made to follow the correct methods used to develop concepts that solve identified problems. In order to determine a final concept, the work has gone through these different methods where interviews with users were a basis for defining requirements which is then used to brainstorm concepts in consultation with Husqvarna. These requirements, which was generated after discussions with users, provided a clear picture of the problems surrounding the measuring tape. The concepts that emerged at this brainstorming meeting have then been screened down and combined to generate an optimal concept that covers the problems located at the beginning of the work. Throughout the process, the work has concluded that there are three different concepts that solve these problems, these concepts combined delivers a final concept. The concept is to be able to redesign the tape that performs the measurement with a digital measuring tape instead of a manual measuring tape, but also for further development to be able to have measurement data delivered directly to the chainsaw or other equipment that the user has with them. In addition, the hook has received modifications where the surface area used to press the hook into the trunk has been increased in order to be able to have more force applied to the hook when attaching. The hook has also been reshaped from the existing one, the changes applied are a cylindrical hook with a sharp end rather than a sheet metal with a rectangular form sharpened to make the hook. This simplifies the procedure of pressing the hook into the trunk so that the force required is lower than the existing one. In addition, inspiration has been taken from fishing gear to protect the hook from getting caught when retracting the hook to the measuring tape housing. This is accomplished with the help of small rods that protect and move the hook away from branches and similar obstacles.