Finding nothing on the market to make this chore easier, he improvised, and made a plastic prototype.
It took Schuler's group one year and 80 computer simulations before they cut any plastic prototypes of the airflow valve.
It's true they are giving themselves a pretty long lead time to turn their plastic prototype into a working chunk of waterproof electronics — saying they "expect Evas to ship by next fall".
Trove is powered by Shapeways, who are currently handling the printing and shipping of both the plastic prototype and the finished piece.
Molds can then be made around the plastic prototype.
Air-side pressure drops of plastic prototypes were slightly higher than of aluminium radiator but it is expected that additional optimization will eliminate this drawback.
With the help of a machinist, and using a formula he concocted for a stiff, self-lubricating plastic, Fenelon built a crude prototype of the gear and found that the torque required to push the window was half of what the old design required.
Chrysler unveiled a prototype of a recyclable plastic bubble car it might develop for poor countries.
Multiple plastic prototypes were made and adjusted, affording a fast, low-cost working model of the proposed clamp.
Next, a plastic model of a reversed shoulder prosthesis obtained by rapid prototyping was surgically implanted.
