Prototyping: not all paths lead to the same result

When developing a new aluminium profile, prototyping is a strategic choice, as it determines how quickly you will be able to tell whether your design actually works.

Many technologies today make it possible to ‘visualise’ an idea.

Digital simulation

Digital simulations, for example, analyse, predict and calculate. They point you in the right direction and reduce the number of unknowns. But they remain, by definition, predictions. And anyone who works with aluminium knows this: there is always a gap between theory and reality that costs time, money and adjustments.

3D printing

3D printing goes one step further, immediately producing a shape, a volume, a tangible object. It is fast, useful, almost instantaneous. But it remains a visual exercise: it never gets to the heart of the matter, namely the actual behaviour of the material during extrusion.

CNC machining

CNC machining also allows us to get close to the desired result, providing good dimensional accuracy. However, when geometries become complex, and when cavities, thin walls and critical flow patterns come into play, its limitations begin to show. Above all, it does not replicate the extrusion process.

Die

At the other end of the spectrum is the final version of die. It is the most accurate version, the one that leaves no room for doubt. But the process takes longer, and making changes becomes more difficult, slower and more expensive.

The choice of Ossicolor

It is precisely in this space, between what is fast but theoretical and what is real but slow, that in-line prototyping comes into its own.

Since 2020, we at Ossicolor have opted for this technology because it enables us to quickly produce a working prototype die.

Not a model, not a simulation, but a real-world tool for testing the extrusion straight away. It means being able to see how the profile actually behaves, identify any potential issues and correct them before they become problems.
It’s the shift from ‘it should work’ to ‘it works’. And that’s why, rather than a technical decision, it was a decision about approach.

We have decided to bridge the gap between concept and testing, between design and reality. Because in an industry where every detail counts, waiting until production to get answers is no longer viable.

With wireframe prototyping, those answers come sooner. And they completely transform the way a product is developed.

📞 If you’re working on a new profile, let Ossicolor take care of it.