SET TO POINT

Every machine is subjected to meticulous testing before leaving the factory. Ensuring the correct functioning of a machine is called quality control. Cars and passenger aircraft must pass rigorous tests. The tests are very important for new models. The designers build a single model, called a prototype. After testing it, the faults are corrected. Every new model usually goes through several prototypes before being ready to be manufactured in large quantities and made available to the public.

The wind tunnel is used to observe the direction and amount of wind that circulates around a vehicle. Aircraft designers submit prototypes of new aircraft to the wind tunnel to test how they fly. In a car, if the air flow is not even, the vehicle will be slow and consume more fuel.

Almost all devices are designed to last several years, so the parts have to work thousands and thousands of times. Repeated tests make them work again and again to see how long they last.

The engines, changes and brakes of the vehicles are tested on a rolling road. The car remains in place while rollers roll underneath. The test shows how the car would work on a real road.