Protolabs Latest Updates
Find out more about our recent innovations.
Injection Moulded Recycled Materials
May 2024
In today’s world, where sustainability is a pressing global concern, the need for greener manufacturing practices has never been more crucial. Protolabs now offers three recycled materials for its injection moulding service.
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PA 12 Glass Beads Smooth Grey
April 2024
We’ve added PA 12 Glass Beads Smooth Grey to our Multi Jet Fusion offering, meaning you can
create quality, strong parts for prototyping and end-use products. The high-strength nylon exhibits a quality surface finish and is water—and air-tight without additional treatment.
This material possesses several advantages when produced with Multi Jet Fusion.
- Consistent mechanical properties near isotropic.
- Finer details with a minimum feature size of 0.5 mm
- Increased heat deflection temperature up to 175°C
3D Printing Leather Finish
February 2024
Finish your parts with a flawless, uninterrupted pattern!
When 3D printing parts, our engineers can translate images of a pattern directly to the surface of your part, resulting in a visually stunning and tactile pattern. Not only does it look amazing, but control over surface structure provides opportunities for
ergonomics, functionality and customisation.
Enhanced Surfaced Finishes for SLS and MJF Parts
March 2023
Protolabs has redeveloped our surface quality standards for MJF and SLS produced parts, delivering a best-in-class finish through flexible surface roughness options. Now you can select the appropriate surface finish that your part requires, with the quality service that you expect from Protolabs.
Redefining Surface Quality Standards
Design for Manufacture, for Additive Manufacturing
February 2023
At Protolabs, we understand the importance of speed, but ensuring that parts are correct and high quality is paramount. With our design for manufacturability analysis, you are provided with instant feedback on your CAD model, ensuring it is suitable for production in moments. Whether your part is complex or simple, our design analysis will inform you of critical or non-critical issues in real-time, so you don’t have to waste hours waiting to find out. Not only will this speed up your quoting process, but the software itself is intuitive and easy to use and will speed up your process further.
Introduction to DFM for 3D Printing
Our Digital Network of Manufacturers at Hubs
February 2023
Bring ideas to market with the fastest and most comprehensive digital manufacturing service in the world. Access Protolabs’ digital factories for accelerated manufacturing of quality parts paired with our digital network of global manufacturers for volume pricing, tighter tolerances, and more complexity. The result? Digital manufacturing and engineering expertise that meets all your needs from prototyping to production.
Critical to Quality
October 2022
Protolabs has extended its free automated critical to quality (CTQ) reporting to include geometric, dimensioning and tolerancing (GD and T) for its on-demand injection moulding service. The process does not impact the company’s rapid delivery times - with shipping in as little time as a day after CAD upload.
Protolabs Moulding Quality Control and Standards
Consultative Design Service
July 2023
Our new service helps you update your CAD model to address the manufacturability feedback you received with your quote. One of our experienced applications engineers will work with you on your part design to improve manufacturability and ensure your part is mouldable.
Consultative Design Analysis Prepares Parts for Production
Putzbrunn Facility
June 2022
Our new 3D printing Centre of Excellence in Putzbrunn means that we can take your part from design, through production and then finish it all under one roof. Whether you need sub assembly, surface treatment, finishing or quality measurement and reporting we can deliver what you need quickly.
Our leading European 3D printing facility
Aluminium 5083 for CNC Machining
February 2022
As the world’s leading digital manufacturer, we have added Aluminium 5083-H111 (3.3547 or AlMg4.5Mn0.7) to our range of over 40 stocked metal and plastic materials for our fast turnaround CNC service.
Protolabs adds high performance Al 5083 to its rapid CNC service