The Upload

Cutting corners isn’t always a bad thing when it comes to sheet metal parts. Design elements that round or bevel corners, such as chamfers and radii, not only add aesthetic value, but also provide improved safety for end users.

It’s that time of year again, time for the BattleBots to go at it to see who is the fiercest in the BattleBox. For the third time, Protolabs is powering DUCK!, the 250-pound, low-riding, and somewhat adorable competitor from Team Black and Blue.

These hard, versatile materials are perfect for use in projects that require high resistance to wear, abrasion, and chemicals.

The speed and complexity of modern manufacturing have pushed the limits of what a traditional CNC machine can handle. Let’s walk through the critical components enabling the next generation of CNC manufacturing.

Perennial fan-favorite, DUCK!, is ready to take on foes large and small, this winter on The Discovery Channel’s popular program, BattleBots. Powered by Protolabs, the wily veteran of several seasons has some great new features in version 3.0.

Part of the confusion could lie in the history and development of the technology. Over the past several decades, 3D printing has earned a solid reputation as an essential process for prototyping parts.

Speed to react to a shifting economy is creating a new set of standards for product and process development. All this leads us to a new set of challenges causing a re-evaluation of strategies for design and process verification and validation.

Our new digital quoting platform took home the gold in the software category of the 2021 LEAP (Leadership in Engineering Achievement Program) Awards.

When you’re printing really large parts in metal, it’s great to have a choice of materials. Aluminum and Inconel 718 both make a lot of sense, but which one is the best for your application?

Often, injection molding is considered the most cost-effective production option for SKUs with estimated annual usage in the low-thousands for volume. It comes down to economies of scale—you just set up once to run tens or hundreds of thousands of parts. The highest volumes often bring you the lowest per unit price tags. But, the production setting also typically carries something else with it if you’re thoughtful—cost control, and lots of it.