The Upload

Supporting universities that are making breakthroughs in product innovation is a cause near and dear to us, and we love seeing what the next generation of product designers and engineers are up to!

For most molded parts, visible flow lines are undesirable. The good news is there are ways to avoid them, both in design and the way that the parts are manufactured.

Jairus of All recreated the Hidden Blade from the popular video game series Assassin’s Creed with help from quick-turn machining at Protolabs.

Notches and tabs are two sheet metal design strategies that can help you in more ways than you might initially think. Designing them properly is key.

Choosing the best translucent material for your molded parts isn’t always crystal clear. There are quite a few things to think about before making your final choice of materials and design.

We often see designs come to us that don’t include bend relief. To ensure that we can successfully create your part, we add relief to your design.

Making nylon parts stronger isn’t difficult. All it takes is the addition of glass to your base material. Explore the pros and cons of glass-filled nylon.

Stereolithography advantages and disadvantages

You know about black swan events: those unpredictable forces that can lead to potentially devastating consequences. They’ve been swooping in with disturbing regularity. Past trade wars with and tariffs on China. The lingering pandemic. The stuck container ship blocking the Suez Canal. Clogged ports. Container shortages. Trucker shortages. Geopolitical uncertainty including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Surging inflation. Ongoing natural disasters and climate-change factors.

Choosing to use ABS, polycarbonate (PC), or combining them is a popular way to get strong machined, printed, or molded parts. There are a lot of similarities, but also some significant differences that might help you find just the right one for your parts.

Industry 4.0. is unfolding in real time and the conversation on digitization, automation, and the present and future state of manufacturing is generating quite a buzz. Let’s unpack some common buzzwords we hear on the subject and how they relate to digital manufacturing.

Despite their widely varying applications, many electronic devices have at least one thing in common—the circuit boards and other components that make them work are all in an enclosure.