Protolabs Product Release Notes

Selecting the right material is just the first step of designing a successful CNC-machined component. Surface finishes also play an essential role, as they influence factors such as corrosion resistance, sealing performance, surface quality, and long-term durability.

To give engineers more options for their machined parts, Protolabs has expanded its CNC machining surface finishes portfolio with three new surface finishes:

• SurTec 650: SurTec 650 is a chromium-free conversion coating for aluminum components that improves corrosion resistance while maintaining dimensional accuracy. This finish is an ideal choice for applications where lightweight parts are exposed to demanding operating conditions. 
• Passivation: Passivation is a post-processing treatment for stainless steel that removes surface contaminants and restores the material's natural corrosion resistance. This is commonly specified for components where cleanliness and durability are critical. 
• Micro-finishing (Ra 0.4 μm): Micro-finishing achieves surface roughness of Ra 0.4 μm, making it suitable for applications where reduced friction, improved sealing performance, and high-quality surface finishes are essential. 

Learn more about CNC surface finishes

Our Single Sales Entity provides a more unified buying experience across Protolabs and Protolabs Network, making it easier for customers to access our manufacturing services.

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Selecting the right material is an important part of designing a successful CNC-machined component. Material choice can influence factors such as mechanical strength, weight, corrosion resistance, temperature performance, and overall part functionality.

To give engineers more options for their machined parts, Protolabs Network has expanded its CNC machining material portfolio with 24 new materials, bringing the total selection to more than 75 materials. The expanded range includes bronze, Inconel, and additional aluminium options, giving engineers greater flexibility to select materials based on their specific application and performance requirements.

Explore available CNC machining materials

Our new Advanced MJF Lightweighting Service enables lightweight, high-performance MJF parts for drones, UAVs, and other weight-sensitive applications.

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ProDesk is your go-to digital manufacturing resource to accelerate prototype and production projects from start to finish. The intuitive platform elevates the tasks you do most: get quotes fast, reorder with ease, connect with production experts, access recent activity, and stay up to date on the latest platform enhancements. Simply put: ProDesk is your smarter home for more efficient work.

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We are pleased to provide you with an update on our Multi Jet Fusion material PA12 flame retardant (PA12 FR). The beta test phase for this innovative, halogen-free material has been extended until 10 March 2025. This gives you even more time to discover and utilise the benefits of this material.

Since 3 February 2025, PA12 FR also has the flammability blue card and a certificate of conformity, which further underlines the high quality and safety standards of this material.

PA12 FR fulfils the flammability class UL94 V0 and enables the production of durable and environmentally friendly end products. This flame-retardant, environmentally friendly and cost-effective material is the ideal solution for your projects.

You can obtain a quote directly via our online ordering portal. If you have any questions, our Customer Engineering Team ([email protected]) will be happy to help.

We've added PAx Smooth Natural and PAx Vapour Smooth Natural to our Selective Laser Sintering offering.  Characterised by excellent toughness and flexibility in any direction (including the z plane)

Primary Benefits include;

• Excellent toughness and durability
• High impact and high elongation
• Long-term stability

PAx Smooth Natural Datasheet

PAx Vapour Smooth Natural Datasheet

We are constantly looking for innovative ways to improve - with our new proprietary mill head auto polishing system, we can get customer products (parts) out the door faster. We now offer auto polishing of mould surfaces, with continued focus to make that even more efficient in the future. We are ultimately producing higher quality finishes, saving labour time and costs. 

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

Datasheet

We constantly challenge ourselves to improve our offerings to you. As part of that commitment, you can
now get bigger, more complete parts across a range of materials in as little as 1 to 3 days with our 5-axis
indexed milling capabilities.

The result?

• 150% larger envelope for parts requiring 5-axis machining
• Reduction in unreachable material, averaging a 13% improvement in plastic parts
•  More complex geometries and non-orthogonal features like off-axis holes are now machinable

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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.

Compare Recycled Materials to their Traditional Counterparts

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.

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Instant design for additive manufacturability (DfAM) analysis now available on all 3D printed quotes. When reviewing your quote, our analysis will immediately highlight potential manufacturability advisories concerning thin walls, small gaps and parts that might exceed our maximum size restraints.

For more help on designing for 3D Printing visit our toolkit.