Manufacturing Services
Get rapid prototypes and low-volume production parts in as fast as 1 day with our manufacturing services, including industrial 3D printing, CNC machining and injection moulding services.
3D Printing
A 3D object is built from a CAD model, usually constructing the part by depositing layer upon layer of material. Protolabs offers five 3D printing services.
CNC Machining
Computer numerical control machining, or CNC machining, is the process of taking a blank piece of material and following a precise set of programmed instructions, to subtractively remove material from the block, until only the final product remains. Protolabs offers;
- CNC Milling
- 3-axis
- 5-axis
- CNC Turning
Injection Moulding
The process of heating resin and injecting it at pressure into a mould cavity, which then solidifies and sets, before being ejected. Protolabs offers;
Manufacturability Toolkits
Explore our manufacturing service tool kits, which outline Protolabs' specifications and give guidance on how to optimise product design for cost effective manufacturing.
Enhanced Machining Capabilities with Our Digital Network
Get anodising, tighter tolerances, and volume pricing options through our network of manufacturing partners. You'll find plating (black oxide, nickel), anodising (Type II, Type III), and chromate coating at scale; tolerances down to ±0.020mm; and cost-efficient machined parts at higher volume.
Learn More About the Digital Network Try Digital Network
Moving on to Production? Check out our On-Demand Manufacturing Service
If you need higher part quantities, affordable piece-part prices, and quick-turn production throughout your product life cycle, our on-demand manufacturing services are the best solution.
Which digital manufacturing service is right for you?
Protolabs offers three manufacturing services: injection moulding, CNC machining and 3D printing.
The type of service needed to manufacture your part will depend on the purpose of the part, the materials needed to manufacture it, the complexity of the design and the required delivery time.
The table below details some of the most important considerations, which may affect your service choice, however, if you are still in doubt, or if you wish to discuss this with a member of the team then please feel free to contact one of our application engineers by phone on +44 (0) 1952 683047 or email [email protected]
Alternatively, please read our prototyping processes whitepaper for more in-depth information about the manufacturing services available at Protolabs.
|
Considerations |
Injection Moulding |
CNC |
3D Printing |
|
What we offer |
Plastic Injection Moulding Liquid Silicone Rubber Moulding Over moulding & Insert Moulding |
CNC Milling - 3-axis & 5-axis (3+2 indexed) CNC Turning – with live tooling |
Stereolithography Selective Laser Sintering Direct Metal Laser Sintering Multi Jet Fusion PolyJet & 3D Printed Silicone |
|
Quantity |
25 to 10,000+ parts |
1 to 200+ parts |
1 to 50+ parts |
|
Speed |
1-15 days |
Same day - 3 days |
1-7 days |
|
Benefits |
Low cost at higher volumes Functional parts Repeatable, Complex parts, Prototyping, bridge tooling and low volume production (10,000’s) |
Low volume parts, Repeatable, Functional end use parts,
|
Prototyping and concept testing, Low volume production parts, Bespoke customised parts, Speed and complexity, Functional/aesthetic components, ISO 13485 (DMLS titanium and cobalt chrome) |
|
Size extents (up to) |
480mm x 980mm x 280mm |
559mm x 356mm x 95mm |
676mm x 367mm x 564mm |
|
Finish options |
PM-F0, PM-F1, PM-T1, PM-T2, SPI-C1, SPI-B1, SPI-A2 |
As-machined, deburred, or deburred with a light bead blast |
Painting/dying, vapour smoothing, polishing, bead blasting
|
|
Material options |
70+ grades of thermoplastic/thermoset resin |
40+ grades of plastic and metal |
25+ grades of plastic and metal |
|
Tolerances |
Machining tolerance of +/- 0.08 mm + resin tolerance which could be as low as 0.002mm/mm |
+/-0.1mm |
Process specific starting from +/- (0.05 mm + 0.001 mm/mm) |
|
Secondary Services |
Mould texture, Inspection, Measurement and Documentation, Assembly, Laser Etching/ Engraving, Pad Printing, Heat stake inserts, Tapping, And many more
|
Anodising, Inspection, Measurement and Documentation, Assembly, Coil inserts, And many more
|
Assembly, Heat treatment, Thermal post cure, Inserts/tapping, Infiltration, Post CNC machining, Vapour smoothing, Tensile/hardness testing Porosity analysis, Quality reports, 3D scanning, And many more |
|
Support available |
Dedicated Account Manager & Application Engineers |
||
|
Consultative Design Service |
|
Project Management Service |
|
| SL | SLS | DMLS | MJF | PJ & 3DS | CNC M | CNC T | PIM | LSR | OM & IM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plastic Part | ✔ | ✔ | - | ✔ | - | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | - | ✔ |
| Elastomeric Part | - | - | - | - | ✔ | - | - | - | ✔ | ✔ |
| Metal Part | - | - | ✔ | - | - | ✔ | ✔ | - | - | - |
| Prototyping | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Low-Volume Production/ Bridge Tooling & Pilot Runs | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Case Studies
CNC Machining
Resource Pages
A collection of our resources on one page, by service.
Choosing a Rapid Prototyping Processes
Each manufacturing process comes with its own unique advantages and disadvantages. From 3D printing to CNC machining and injection moulding. This white paper provides a technical view of the various rapid prototyping processes, to help you assess the benefits of each and enable you to focus on a process that's best suited for your project.
