This method has been used since the developing engineers did not have previous experience in making chairs’ mechanisms. The developer group started to analyze Frapett’s existing chair mechanism (See Figure 1 & 2) and see how it functions, using visual observation and measuring tools. After observations the developer group started to redesign the mechanism according to the data retrieved.
Figure 1: Image of reverse engineered mechanism Figure 2: Image of existing mechanism
Kansei Engineering, Type I Method As discussed in the theory part, this method has three types, the developer group has decided to go with the Type I concept since it is simple and do not require additional software or resources, and can produce the physical characteristic of the product in the processes (Customerthink, 2017). Type I is also called category classification which a product’s Kansei is broken down into a tree structure (Nagamachi, 1995). The developer group made a tree structure starts from the Zero Level concept and broken into sub concepts that are, 1st, 2nd, ..., nth subconcepts until the design specifications are being obtained (Nagamachi, 1995). The developer group started to breakup the concept of “Customized for you” into 3 main feelings; comfort feeling, fit feeling, and healthy feeling, the breaking up process was carried on until the physical traits started to appear (see Appendix 8).
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