Digital Manufacturing for Automotive Product Development

Conquer ever-shortening development cycles for traditional, electric, and autonomous vehicles with rapid prototyping and low-volume production

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Certifications ISO 9001:2015


Innovative Companies We Support

How Do Automotive Companies use Protolabs?


Rapid Prototyping

Mitigate design risk through rapid iteration and prototyping in production materials without sacrificing development speed.

Quality Inspections

Validate part geometry with several quality documentation options. Digital inspection, PPAP, and FAI reporting are available.

Mass Customization

Implement low-volume manufacturing to enable more diverse and customized automotive features that are tailored to modern drivers.


Supply Chain Flexibility

Get on-demand support for line-down emergencies, part recalls, or other supply chain disturbances in your production plants by using automated quoting, rapid tooling, and low-volume production parts.

Tooling and Fixtures

Improve manufacturing processes to create greater automation and streamlined component assembly with custom fixturing.




We are the fastest and most comprehensive digital manufacturer in the industry with more than 25 years of experience developing products for innovative automotive companies around the world. 100%
of Fortune 100 
Automotive Companies Served
750 Million
Parts Manufactured
300,000
Customers Served


Full Production Support Team

We have a team of manufacturing experts working behind the scenes to fulfill your production order—we manage the entire process and keep you updated along the way.

Account Manager

A dedicated account manager provides support, including assistance with platform and file uploads.

Applications Engineers

Expert CAD solutions and cost-reduction strategies tailored by in-house applications engineers to optimize your designs.

Logistics

Seamless logistics fulfillment and efficiency optimization from experienced operations specialists.

Quality Control

Our expert on-site quality control teams ensure your parts meet your expectations and exact specifications.



Manufacturing Services for Automotive Products


Injection Moulding expand_less expand_more

Injection Moulding

Get affordable, high-quality moulded parts and bridge tooling within days. With our free mouldability consultation, the design and molding process is rapidly accelerated to save you time and money.

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  • Low-volume molding up to 100,000+ parts with volume pricing available—no MOQ required
  • 100+ plastic, elastomeric, and silicone rubber materials
  • Automated CMM for fast, in-house quality documentation

 

CNC Machining expand_less expand_more

CNC Machining

Leverage the same speed, precision, and reliability in machining that you’re accustomed to at Protolabs but unlock advanced machining capabilities like tighter tolerances and volume pricing through our manufacturing network.

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  • Machined parts in as fast as 1 day with optional plating and anodizing in as fast as 6 days
  • Cost-efficient machined parts at higher volumes
  • Tolerances down to ± 0.020mm through our digital network
3D Printing expand_less expand_more

3D Printing

Want quality parts and additive expertise at a single 3D printing source? Choose from seven different additive manufacturing technologies for cost-effective prototyping and highly precise, repeatable production parts.

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  • Additive technologies include metal 3D printing, SLA, SLS, FDM, Carbon DLS and more
  • 30 plastic and metal materials in a range of finishes
  • 25 years of additive manufacturing expertise

Quality Measures for the Automotive Industry

Our industry-standard procedures and certifications guarantee quality and regulatory compliance.

CMM inspection report First Article Inspection (FAI)
Dimensional Inspection Report (DIR) Conflict Minerals Reporting
Material Certificates + Certificate of Analysis Prop65
REACH + RoHS Certificates

AS 9100 via Protolabs Network

Certificate of Conformance (CoC) Manufacturing partners in our network certified with PPAP, ISO 13485


Materials for Automotive Applications


Thermoplastics

Choose from hundreds of thermoplastics including PEEK, acetal, or supply your own material. Maintain branding with custom colorant for qualified projects.

Nylons

3D print functional prototypes in several nylon materials available through selective laser sintering and Multi Jet Fusion. Mineral- and glass-filled nylons improve mechanical properties when needed.

Liquid Silicone Rubber

Silicone rubber materials such as fuel-resistant fluorosilicone can be used for gaskets, seals, and tubing. An optical clarity silicone rubber is also available for lens and lighting applications.

Aluminum

This all-purpose metal used for light-weighting provides excellent strength-to-weight ratio and can be machined or 3D printed.

 


Common Automotive Applications

We have several capabilities within our manufacturing services catered to the automotive industry. Here are a few applications we frequently see.

  • Assembly Line Components
  • Fixtures
  • Enclosures and Housings
  • Plastic Dash Components
  • Aftermarket Parts
  • Armatures
  • Lenses and Lighting Features
  • Support for On-Board Consumer Electronics