Protolabs is the world’s fastest manufacturer of custom prototype and on-demand production parts. We offer product designers and engineers multiple manufacturing technologies—3D printing, CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, and injection molding—to address their needs at each stage of product development and into production. We achieve our unprecedented speed with online quoting, proprietary software, and automated manufacturing processes that transform a CAD model into a final part within days, sometimes hours.
Our digitalized process starts with a customer uploading their 3D CAD model to receive an interactive quote with free design analysis and pricing information within hours. The manufacturability analysis helps customers eliminate problems, like sink or internal undercuts, before their design reaches the manufacturing floor, so modifications can be made early and often—without penalty. It’s an iterative process that lets designers and engineers avoid development speed bumps and reduce design risk, so they can get their products to market as fast as possible.
Protolabs Resources
Designing for Automotive/Transportation
The automotive industry is past the point of talking about the disruption coming from demand for electric vehicle powertrains or the potential of autonomous vehicles, and well on its way to responding to those disruptions thanks to advanced engineering technologies. Download this special digital edition.
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Protolabs in the News
Manufacturing model pairs company’s own digital factories with distributed supplier network to expand options for product developers and production buyers.
Despite the upside to support-free 3D printing, supports should be considered as just another tool in the toolbox to optimize certain parts and applications.
Protolabs Instant Manufacturability Analysis online service simplifies parts design process for 3D printing.
One of the picks will be chosen as DE’s Editor’s Pick of the Week.
On-demand manufacturers brace for supply chain volatility.
Get automated design feedback and expanded material and finishing options for 3D printing with new solution.
AM and digital manufacturing tools are in the spotlight as companies localize and distribute manufacturing closer to home to build greater resiliency into their supply chains.
Volume pricing, precision tolerances, enhanced finishes, and other machining capabilities now available for product developers, company says.
The CHIPS Act and AM Forward initiative emphasize digital design and manufacturing as part of a strategy to turbocharge U.S. manufacturing and innovation.
Organizations are embracing new tools and seeding new design practices to promote sustainability objectives and build greener products.
There is no single solution to choosing the optimal production process, just a tried-and-true method of asking the right questions and leveraging vendor help.
As use of 3D printing expands, designers are challenged to ensure quality control. New tools are emerging to help.
Designers discover and learn generative design on YouTube; find AM to be complementary.
New Protolabs report finds engineers drawn to sustainable design practices, but there’s still work to be done to develop lasting corporate focus.
As adoption of 3D printing for production picks up, a fresh wave of AM peripherals is emerging to help organizations automate workflows and achieve consistent output at scale.
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