There are many great product ideas out there that may never get the chance to get off the computer screen, into production, and ultimately into the hands of an adoring public. Why not? Even the most enthusiastic person who has put endless work into a top notch idea may fall short in bringing their product to life if they don’t have the resources and funds to make that happen. That’s where the Proto Labs Cool Idea! Award program comes in.

Proto Labs is the world's fastest custom manufacturer of prototype and low-volume parts. Our Firstcut® CNC machining and Protomold® injection moulding services provide real parts from a 3D CAD model in as fast as one business day.

The Cool Idea! Award program was introduced in the US in 2011, and aggregate awards of $100,000 in Firstcut and Protomold services were made to recipients (check them out in our “Previous Award Recipients” section). With an exciting first year under its belt, the Cool Idea! Award program will be expanded to the EU in 2012 and provide a total of up to $250,000 in services to those with a fresh and innovative product idea just waiting to emerge. Winners can use their fully functional Firstcut and Protomold parts for prototyping, design iterations, testing, or even an initial production run—in short, helping move a project from pie-in-the-sky to product-on-the-shelf.