IKEA will make furniture that doesn’t require tools

Source:
Dezeen/Fordaq
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IKEA is ready to introduce products with an innovative new snap-together assembly system across its entire range of flat-packed furniture.

This will not only allow the customers to put together new tables, chairs, credenzas, and bed frames in a matter of minutes, but also enables them to be disassembled and moved multiple times without diminishing their durability. 

The new type of joing is calle wedge dowel and makes the assembly process much quicker and simpler. This does away with the need for screws, bolts, screwdrivers and allen keys, Dezeen reported.

Essentially, it involves a ridged end and a grooved end that seamlessly "snap" together. The intrepid team of designers at IKEA's prototype shop in Sweden first conceived of the system back in 2014.

The small, ribbed protrusion comes ready installed in flat-packed furniture panels and slots into pre-drilled holes in neighbouring panels.

The change comes as a response to many customers who have complained about the slow and frustrating experience of putting together IKEA products.

"IKEA furniture typically contains quite a lot of fittings," IKEA's range and supply manager Jesper Brodin said. "We see some challenges in the time and interest in doing that."

"So we thought, what happens if we try to take them out totally? We are now into the implementation phase of making it possible for you to click your furniture together."

IKEA first introduced the wedge dowel in its Regissör storage products and Stockholm cabinets in 2014 to test the concept. It now intends to roll out the system across its entire furniture range, starting with the wooden Lisabo table, which went on sale earlier this year, Dezeen reported.

"I actually put together a table which used to take me 24 minutes to assemble but took me three minutes to click together," said Brodin.

The wedge dowel requires no glue, yet can be taken apart and reassembled many times without loss of structural integrity.

Thus, the products will be better suited for the modern lifestyle and will also last longer.

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