DiMonte Group partnered with KAYEZEN and Cesaroni Design to incorporate multiple resistance bands into one unit, allowing users to change the resistance strength on the fly with the turn of a dial. We are excited to have been involved in the design and development of this award-winning and ground-breaking product in the physical therapy and sports training market.
Innovation
After some initial brainstorming, we quickly built mock-ups and started doing exercises with multiple bands to help us identify opportunities. We tested dozens of ways to customize the resistance and developed a self-centering internal pin and disk configuration to engage and disengage bands while maintaining symmetry and balance in the mechanism. The final housing design features universal attachment points to connect to any structure, strap, or handle, and allows tool-free access to easily replace worn bands.
Safety, Life-Cycle Testing, and Finite Element Analysis (FEA)
We designed several accelerated lifecycle testing stations to determine how the product would perform under normal operation and abuse. We tested thousands of bands to failure to find the best possible materials and added Kevlar reinforcement to prevent overstretching and safely contain any broken bands.
We used SolidWorks FEA to simulate dozens of loading conditions to inform and validate the design. These tests were instrumental in maximizing strength, rigidity, and impact resistance to provide a safe and high-performing product.
Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA)
We assembled hundreds of bands by hand and worked closely with production vendors to develop unique assembly methods and specially adapted tools to simplify and streamline the assembly process. Drawing inspiration from our rock climbing experience, we tested a variety of knots and other methods to retain the Kevlar string in the ends of the bands to produce a reliable solution that could be automated without weakening the system.
Game Changing
KAYEZEN offers featured exercise suggestions using one or multiple VECTORs connected to any indoor or outdoor structure. Physical therapists, professional sport trainers and teams, and many gyms are quickly adopting this innovative, patented technology. This product won best innovation at the 2019 UK Fitness Awards and a 2019 Good Design award. https://www.kayezen.com
Patents:
US9724553 – Resistance Band Assembly and a Method of Varying a Resistive Force Applied Therapy
US9682267 – Insert for Use with a Resistance Band Assembly and a Method of Using the Same
USD777850 – Variable Resistance Band
