Protolabs is the world’s fastest digital manufacturing source for prototypes and small-volume production parts. They offer a combination of industrial 3D printing, CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication and injection molding to deliver custom parts within days.
The company enables product developers to quickly bring their designs to life, save time and money, and reduce development and manufacturing risks. Their unique blend of automated technology, design reviews, and quality monitoring is applied across their injection molding plastics, sheet metal fabrication, CNC machining, and 3D printing services.
When a 3D CAD file is uploaded to the quoting system, a detailed analysis of its manufacturability and cost will be returned along with configurable pricing. This provides valuable feedback on how changes to a part’s geometry will impact both the cost and manufacturability of the final part. Issues that are critical to the production of the part will be listed as required changes, and those that are not will be marked as advisories.
In addition to 3D printing, Protolabs offers secondary services such as heat treating, plating and painting to improve the performance of parts. The company also has an extensive range of material options and can produce a wide variety of polymers and metals to meet your specific project requirements. In addition, Protolabs uses Direct Metal Laser Sintering technology that allows designers to explore geometries beyond the limits of any other production process. To learn more about the company’s full range of capabilities and how to optimise your design for production, download their comprehensive digital manufacturing guide.
