Manufacturing Resources

Check out our library of free manufacturing resources—from technical white papers to quick design tips to live webinars

Latest Partnerships

NASA part

NASA

NASA partners with Protolabs to machine a crowdsourced, generatively designed part that was delivered in only 36 hours so the design could be presented at the PowerSource Global Summit.
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Silver parts

Helping Electrical Engines for Aircraft Soar

Hinetics works with Protolabs to 3D print two designs for large heat sinks
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Black tactile board with grid pattern and stylus on a wooden surface.

3D-Printed Tablet Teaches Braille to Blind and Low-Vision Kids

3D-Printed Tablet Teaches Braille to Blind and Low-Vision Kids
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CAD part image

3D Printing Bolsters Innovation for Global Manufacturer

Rapid iteration capabilities and solid quality helped Nordson Adhesives quickly get their part.
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Featured Resources

5 Ways to Improve Part Moldability with Draft

Draft Angle Guidelines for Injection Molding

Apply proper draft early and often to injection-molded parts to save production time and money.
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Achieve consistent walls and features with slight adjustments to geometry and materials

Improving Part Design with Uniform Wall Thickness

Molded parts can have consistent walls and features with minor adjustments to geometry & materials.
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Selecting the Right Material for 3D Printing

3D Printing Materials Guide

Explore material properties available for plastic and metal 3D printing processes
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injection molding living hinge diagram

MJF vs. SLS: Key Differences and Similarities

A look at the key differences between Multi Jet Fusion and selective laser sintering and how to determine the optimal process for your application.
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Tolerances for machined parts

Fine-Tuning Tolerances for CNC Machined Parts

Standard machining tolerances can maximize quality, reduce cost, & simplify designs for your parts.
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threading options for turned parts

A Guide to Adding Threading to CNC Machined Parts

Find out how to add threaded features to your CAD and display them in Protolabs’ quoting system.
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laser cut sheet metal parts

What is Laser Cutting?

Lasers have emerged as prime production tools, bringing precision and strength as cutting methods for various metal manufacturing processes.
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Rapid Manufacturing for Metal Prototypes and Production Parts

Rapid Manufacturing for Metal Prototypes and Production Parts

Learn about the material properties of hard and soft metals as well as the machining, molding, and 3D printing processes used to manufacture metal parts.
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