MANUFACTURE OF PROTOTYPES FOR EXPERIMENTAL TESTS

Abstract

Prototypes are a fundamental part of any development. There are many ways to perform a test for an essay. Some assays have several tests in their procedures. Without Trials & Tests, a new idea does not advance in its technological maturity (TRL - Technology Readiness Level), and thus lengthens the path to becoming a product. The industry carries out tests, but they are almost always with product and not with real prototypes. Be that as it may, limitation imposed by computational programming of virtual or digital prototypes never achieves results obtained with a real physical prototype, whether in a controlled environment (in the laboratory), or even in a relevant environment (in the field). Currently, with additive manufacturing, task of building physical prototypes has reached another level of achievement. A real physical prototype development should always be easy and quick to build, at different scales and with low cost materials. As project maturity grows, so do costs and scale of prototypes. This paper aims to discuss and present, in a clear and simple way, importance of building and testing new ideas with real physical prototypes manufactured in additive manufacturing.