Medical Injection Molding
High quality, quick-turn injection-molded parts to accelerate the production of new product development in the medical industry
Certification + Compliance
ISO 9001:2015 | ISO 13485:2016 | ITAR
Injection Molding Capabilities for Medical Device Development
Protolabs helps medical teams move from concept to production faster with injection molding services designed for rapid iteration and production grade quality. Our free digital quoting platform, ProDesk, provides pricing and built in design for manufacturability feedback, helping teams identify risks early and ensure parts are ready for injection molding before tooling begins.
With access to a broad range of thermoplastics and medical grade liquid silicone rubber, no minimum order quantities, and industry leading lead times, teams can iterate quickly while maintaining consistency, quality and control. Our manufacturing experts support you throughout the product life cycle, offering flexible options including customer-supplied resins, overmolding and insert molding, and other secondary injection molding operations.
Protolabs’ on demand manufacturing model adapts from prototyping through sustained production, enabling faster decision making, fewer late stage changes, and predictable outcomes as programs progress.
Why Medical Teams Choose Protolabs
Move faster without increasing risk
Digital quoting, built-in DFM feedback, and rapid iteration help medical teams hit clinical, regulatory, and investor milestones while avoiding late-stage surprises.
Production-grade quality from the start
Consistent, repeatable molding processes with digital traceability support validation, documentation, and audits as programs progress.
Engineering efficiency when bandwidth is limited
Applications engineers help resolve manufacturability issues early so internal teams can stay focused on design and performance.
Simplify a complex supplier ecosystem
A single partner from prototype through production reduces handoffs, approval cycles, and overall program risk.
Scale on demand
No minimum order quantities, predictable lead times, and global digital manufacturing capacity support everything from early R&D to ramp-up.
Proven in real medical programs
From mobility devices to robotic surgical systems and infection-prevention products, Protolabs supports fast-moving medical teams where speed, precision, and reliability matter most.
How We Support Innovation in the Medical Industry
With no minimum order quantities and a free prototype tool with on-demand manufacturing orders, we’re your partner to get to market faster for projects such as:
- Lower volume or difficult-to-forecast products
- FDA Class I and II devices, or non-implantable components
- Early-in-development projects
- Components requiring complicated supply chains
- Development stages that require design flexibility
- Parts in which we can apply early process learnings to production
- SKUs that could benefit from a secondary source
- Design verification testing, clinical trial submissions, and regulatory body submission
Plastic Materials for Medical Devices
From high-performance polymers to elastomers, we source and run the materials medical teams rely on.
Medical-Grade Liquid Silicone Rubber (LSR)
Go-to elastomer for seals and prototype implants, offering excellent biocompatibility and a wide, tunable softness range
- Wide range of hardness from very soft to firm
- Typical uses: seals, gaskets, prototypes of implants, soft-touch features
- Considerations: thermoset material—cannot be re-melted or recycled
PC-ABS and PC Blends
Versatile pick for housings, enclosures, wearables, and lab equipment; highly moldable with clean, durable cosmetics and medical-grade options
- Highly moldable, durable, and available in medical grade
- Strong cosmetic performance for housings and enclosures
- Typical uses: handhelds, wearables, lab equipment
- Considerations: not for implants
PEEK
Engineered for demanding work such as implant prototypes and surgical tools; delivers top-tier strength and heat/chemical resistance
- High strength and stiffness
- Heat- and chemical-resistance
- Biocompatible grade available
- Typical uses: implants, implant prototypes, surgical tools
Polycarbonate (PC)
Trusted for transparent housings, surgical instruments, and IV connectors thanks to its clarity and durable performance, but watch for stress cracking in tough environments
- Durable with good heat resistance
- Excellent optical clarity and aesthetics for transparent parts
- Typical uses: surgical instruments, IV connectors, housings
- Considerations: may stress crack with prolonged temperature fluctuations or certain chemistries
Polypropylene (PP)
Cost-effective staple for high-volume disposables such as syringes and pill containers, offering chemical/heat resistance and a bit of flex to reduce cracking
- Cost-effective
- Suitable for high-volume applications
- Chemical- and heat-resistant; slight flexibility reduces cracking
- Typical uses: syringes, pill containers
- Considerations: lower impact resistance than engineering resins
Thermoplastic Elastomers (TPE/TPU)
Preferred for soft-touch grips, seals, and catheters, with strong chemical bonding in overmolded designs
- Broad durometer range for grips, seals, and catheters
- Can be overmolded to chemically bond with substrates (e.g., PC, ABS, PA)
- Typical uses: soft-touch grips, seals, and catheters
- Considerations: more heat-sensitive than LSR
Protolabs x Makers
Tim Humphrey, former Lead Senior Product Design Engineer at Edwards Lifesciences, explains how medical teams can move fast without compromising quality. A longstanding partner of Protolabs during his 45+ year years in MedTech, Tim shares practical insights on rapid iteration, early DFM, and reducing risk as programs advance toward validation and production.
