Cable excavation is a work that becomes expensive as it is time consuming and the risk of cable breaks is imminent. It often happens when the excavator is used in direct contact with the cable strap. The purpose of the work is that Holms is in a product expansion phase, which in turn means that they want to manufacture more tools for excavators. The aim is to produce a CAD model and manufacturing base for a first prototype of a so-called cable brush machine. The work is being carried out at Holms Industri located in Motala, which today designs and manufactures road maintenance tools for mainly tractors and wheel loaders. The method is based on Ullman's product development process, which was modified to suit this work. The concept development was divided into two phases where the first phase became rough sketches of how the cable machine could look. The result from the first phase was taken to the second phase, focusing on making the concepts more detailed in order to progress. The detailed design of the prototype began with the definitive concept as a base. To minimize the requirement for welding fixtures, reducing production time and achieving consistent results the focus was on making the details easy to produce and assemble. Manufacturing bases were then created from the CAD models. The result of the work became a prototype of the cable brush machine, made with 3D models and manufacturing bases to build and test it.

This report presents two concepts for a product that is used for cable excavation. The first concept consists of a brush that is integrated with a collection container and the second concept consists of a brush that is integrated with a digging bucket. A test plan was also created to determine which dimension and material would yield the best results during excavation. The main purpose of this project was to increase the product range of Holm's industry in Motala by developing a concept that would minimize the risk of damaging cables during excavation. The product would also fit into the existing product range at Holms. The goal was to present two concepts for a brush that can directly be designed in a CAD program. To understand how the brush will operate, a study on existing products on the market was conducted. Then a study on the excavator attachments was made which resulted in OilQuick being a good solution because of its fast-hydraulic attachment. Customer needs were identified through interviews, which gave the impression that a brush that simultaneously collects soil would be a good solution. The result of the study was used to write the product specification. The product's many functions were divided into several parts to determine different solutions for each function. Thirteen concepts were prepared and a decision matrix was used as a tool to eliminate the concepts that would not be used. Several iterations of the concept development process were conducted where the results for each iteration were discussed to preserve the purpose of the project.