3D Printing

Proto Labs offers on-demand manufacturing for low-volume custom molded parts and opens a metrology lab

Digital manufacturing company Proto Labs (NYSE: PRLB) has added a suite of capabilities designed specifically to address the on-demand manufacturing needs of the low-volume, high-mix product segment.

For years, there has been a gap in manufacturing services for customers with low-volume, custom molded components. Customers usually had to purchase in large volumes to meet the minimum order quantities and work with multiple vendors to address varied needs from prototyping to final part production. Both strategies add cost and time to part procurement.

Now, Proto Labs has tailored its offerings to address the needs of both prototyping and on-demand manufacturing.

Proto Labs houses nearly 700 CNC mills and injection molding presses that enable on-demand manufacturing of molded parts within days.

“Since every manufacturing project is different, our two injection molding options let customers begin to focus on what is really needed from their tooling,” says Becky Cater, global product manager for injection molding at Proto Labs. “Whether it’s a product development need for molded prototypes or a strategic partnership for on-demand production parts, we now have a total solution for the entire life cycle of a product.”

The new on-demand manufacturing service offers customers more competitive part pricing along with guaranteed lifetime mold maintenance and ownership.

In addition, Proto Labs is opening its first metrology lab for enhanced inspection reporting on end-use production parts. The metrology lab houses a range of standard inspection equipment, as well as state-of-the-art 3D scanners that provide an automated 360-degree look at parts within minutes. In addition to the standard range of First Article inspection Reports, Proto Labs also offers a digital inspection report that includes a precision surface scan with a detailed color map for a direct CAD-to-scan comparison to quickly identify dimensional variances on parts.

A three-dimensional surface scan creates a digital inspection report with a detailed color map for a direct CAD (left) to 3D scan (right) comparison to identify dimensional variances on parts.

Says Jeff Schipper, director of special operation at Proto Labs, and lead engineer in the metrology lab, “We’ve always provided our customers with front-end design analysis on their CAD models really fast—digital inspections bookend this process by significantly reducing the cost and time associated with conventional inspection reporting.”

Proto Labs
www.protolabs.com