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Development of Sliding Mechanism for IKEA Furniture

Kroon, Emma LU and Nilsson, Amanda LU (2019) MMKM05 20191
Innovation
Abstract
This Master Thesis cover a product development process based on an investigation
of an existing product at IKEA. A study regarding potential improvements of the
existing low-cost roller slide was performed. The roller slide enables opening and
closing of drawers in some of today’s IKEA furniture. The existing product contains
of four metal plates where each plate has a plastic wheel attached by a rivet and a
washer. Today’s solution fulfills all the technical requirements, but the perceived
quality of the end consumer is considered being poor. The aim was to investigate
potential improvements of the roller slide by improving the stability and decreasing
the generated noise during use. The study was conducted at IKEA Components AB,
... (More)
This Master Thesis cover a product development process based on an investigation
of an existing product at IKEA. A study regarding potential improvements of the
existing low-cost roller slide was performed. The roller slide enables opening and
closing of drawers in some of today’s IKEA furniture. The existing product contains
of four metal plates where each plate has a plastic wheel attached by a rivet and a
washer. Today’s solution fulfills all the technical requirements, but the perceived
quality of the end consumer is considered being poor. The aim was to investigate
potential improvements of the roller slide by improving the stability and decreasing
the generated noise during use. The study was conducted at IKEA Components AB,
a subsidiary company within the IKEA corporate group.
An extensive pre-study including studying the existing product, similar and
alternative solutions was performed to gain knowledge and inspiration. New design
solutions as well as adjustments of the existing roller slide were considered. The
number of ideas was narrowed down due to time and cost limits. In consultations
with supervisors, the new design solutions were discarded. Concepts were
generated, screened and evaluated based on tested prototypes. The remaining
concepts were further developed and assessed based on a qualitative Blind Test.
Two concepts were recommended as potential solutions to IKEA Components. One
of the concepts, Concept C.1, consist of the current roller slide where the wheels on
the drawer are fixed mounted and not able to rotate. The other concept, Concept
C.1+, is a development of the first mentioned concept and the non-rotational wheels
are replaced by plastic blocks. It is up to IKEA Components to evaluate whether
they fulfil all their requirements. For future implementation, both concepts have to
be further developed. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Kroon, Emma LU and Nilsson, Amanda LU
supervisor
organization
course
MMKM05 20191
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Product development, IKEA, sliding mechanism, slide, wheel
language
English
id
8983351
date added to LUP
2019-06-14 08:15:08
date last changed
2019-06-14 08:15:08
@misc{8983351,
  abstract     = {{This Master Thesis cover a product development process based on an investigation
of an existing product at IKEA. A study regarding potential improvements of the
existing low-cost roller slide was performed. The roller slide enables opening and
closing of drawers in some of today’s IKEA furniture. The existing product contains
of four metal plates where each plate has a plastic wheel attached by a rivet and a
washer. Today’s solution fulfills all the technical requirements, but the perceived
quality of the end consumer is considered being poor. The aim was to investigate
potential improvements of the roller slide by improving the stability and decreasing
the generated noise during use. The study was conducted at IKEA Components AB,
a subsidiary company within the IKEA corporate group.
An extensive pre-study including studying the existing product, similar and
alternative solutions was performed to gain knowledge and inspiration. New design
solutions as well as adjustments of the existing roller slide were considered. The
number of ideas was narrowed down due to time and cost limits. In consultations
with supervisors, the new design solutions were discarded. Concepts were
generated, screened and evaluated based on tested prototypes. The remaining
concepts were further developed and assessed based on a qualitative Blind Test.
Two concepts were recommended as potential solutions to IKEA Components. One
of the concepts, Concept C.1, consist of the current roller slide where the wheels on
the drawer are fixed mounted and not able to rotate. The other concept, Concept
C.1+, is a development of the first mentioned concept and the non-rotational wheels
are replaced by plastic blocks. It is up to IKEA Components to evaluate whether
they fulfil all their requirements. For future implementation, both concepts have to
be further developed.}},
  author       = {{Kroon, Emma and Nilsson, Amanda}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Development of Sliding Mechanism for IKEA Furniture}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}