Evolution of a product : development of a force reaction device for the input cord on solid body stringed electric musical instruments

This purpose of this thesis was to perform an investigation of the design and development process required to bring a potential product from concept to production. The specific product to be developed was a force reaction device to be installed on solid body electric musical instruments such as electric guitars and basses. In addition to reacting forces subjected upon the instrument cord, the device was to continually protect the surface finish of the instrument by keeping the cord and the instrument body from coming into contact with one another. The development process included such areas as determination of the design requirements for the device (i.e. Product Design Specification), generation of conceptual designs for the device, formal selection of a conceptual design, development of the concept into a working prototype, and testing of the prototype. All of these aspects of the development process were fully investigated and completed. A few areas, due to the time limitations of this work, were simply outlined for future work. These areas included mass production of the device and marketing considerations. The prototype for the designed device was found to fulfill all of the design requirements listed in the Product Design Specification. The device was found to be easily attachable to any typical instrument. Once the device was installed and the cord was inserted, the device successfully secured the cord and prevented any movement of the input jack during the subjection of force. The arrangement of the device was also found to continually prevent any contact between the cord and the instrument finish.