Design and development of a novel testing rig for the examination of additively manufactured auxetic components

This paper reports upon the design and development of a novel testing rig for the examination of additively manufactured auxetic componentry. By firstly reviewing the key challenges for practical researchers and exploring the range of approaches used to examine auxetic structures, we subsequently introduce a new testing configuration seeking to enhance the existing methods found within the literature. The developed testing configuration includes a novel mechanical design with a new method for component mounting offering advanced control of the boundary condition and a fully developed control interface which facilitates real-time analytics, a range of data acquisitions and integration with a CAD environment. This paper describes both the development of the mechanical design and the development of the control interface by exploring the key design features and documentation of the manufacturing and assembly process. Finally, we discuss how the presented testing configuration offers a new and flexible way of testing auxetic componentry with additional insights offered for future researchers who wish to recreate or adapt the testing setup for their own examinations of additively manufactured componentry.