The project was performed in collaboration with Husqvarna, one of the world?s leading manufacturer in the market of electric outdoor products. The report is a thesis work of a bachelor mechanical engineer program, in the field product development and design.The project is a study of the development opportunities within drive belt for a gear driven gearbox to one of Husqvarnas petrol powered hedge trimmers. A big part of the project was also to find combinations of materials for all components in the gearbox, to reduce weight and maintain or improve the performance of the system. Belt drive was of interest to investigate as an alternative solution to the current design that can reduce wear on the system at a performance test performed in the company before the product is released to market.

The main objective of this thesis was to develop appropriate strategies and find factors that affect the usability of parameterized designs. This was accomplished by investigate the user-interface and how it is designed to meet the user's information needs. The thesis also embraces the basic theories in terms of investigation, cognitive design principles and human behavior patterns in the interaction with the machine. The approach has led to an explorative investigation in this subject area.The thesis also had the purpose to achieve more efficient ways for development of motor chainsaws at Husqvarna AB's department Global Cutting Equipment. That can be achieved through reduce costs of development per sold unit.

To maintain production in high salaries countries and strength in competition against other companies, it is today more important than ever to maximize production, offer a wide spectra of products and be able to deliver on the customers desire of shorter and shorter delivery time. Flexible production and short time spent on die changes is vital to achieve these desires. The interest for die changeover time reduction grew in the same pace as the demand for increased product variety grew. SMED as a method of reducing time spent on die changeovers were developed in between 1950-1970, by the Japanese Shigeo Shingo.The purpose of this thesis work has been to investigate the result of SMED in a die casting facility, and compare the result from it with the result considering time spent on die changeovers when investing in new equipment. The goal is to implement a thorough investigation by using the SMED method at Tenhults Pressgjuteri AB and make a brochure that have to be simple to understand, in purpose to draw interest to the advantages of using SMED as a method.Commissioned by the Swedish foundry association Swecast, the work has been carried out by studying die changeovers at Tenhults Pressgjuteri AB, where filming and interviews with the operators have been included in the analysis.

The functional connection between the building and the streetscape affects the city and its attractiveness. Stores located in shopping malls with their entrances facing internal walkways, creates segregation between the mall and the streetscape. This segregation implies that the shopping mall loses some of its attractiveness, which may result in a so-called Greyfield mall. The expression Greyfield mall is used for shopping malls that have lost its visitors. Competition from new modern malls and a lack of investments are examples of factors that influence the development of Greyfiled malls.