Low-volume Production with Injection Moulding

Reduce part costs and create supply chain flexibility with low-volume production services at Protolabs

We have two injection moulding service options—prototyping and on-demand manufacturing—and each offers its own benefits depending on your project needs. If part quantities are higher, an affordable piece-part price is important, and quick-turn production throughout your product life cycle is critical, our on-demand manufacturing option is ideal.

On-demand Manufacturing Tool for Low-Volume Production

Compare to prototyping

Mould Price	Higher than prototyping tool
Part Price	Lower than prototyping tool
Mould Cavities	Single and multi-cavity
Guaranteed Mould Life	Unlimited
Mould Storage	Stored for 3 years of inactivity
Quality Documentation	Moulding process development report and basic inspection reports included; enhanced inspection reports available upon request
Additional Features	Aluminium moulds Standard lead time of 15 days or less Tolerances of +/-0.08mm plus resin tolerance (mm./mm.) Set-up fees apply to each production run

Why Use an On-demand Manufacturing Tool?

Protolabs on-demand manufacturing service helps you simplify your supply chain so you can get quality parts more easily. Using industry best practices like scientific moulding, we accelerate manufacturing cycles to reduce your time to market. We work to meet your inventory needs with no minimum order quantities and offer supply chain flexibility ranging from bridge tooling and just-in-time (JIT) production to line-down emergency coverage.

Low-volume Runs

Validate part design, assembly processes, and market demand with pilot runs prior to mass production.
Manage inventory overhead with production of parts only when demand dictates.
Use as the primary production method for products with annual sales volumes of a few thousand units.

Bridge Tooling

Implement cost-effective aluminium tooling before committing to a capital expense with steel tooling.
Minimise the “cost of waiting” for a steel tool—and get to market quicker.

Optimising Supply Chain

Minimise down time and reduce the risk of stock-outs when large-scale production tools are being repaired.
Mitigate the risk of domestic and global shipping delays by having a reliable, on-demand supplier of low-volume parts.
Manage increases in demand volatility without going on back-order.

Reduce Production Costs

Unlock new market opportunities with cost-effective production of low-volume, end-use parts
Procure parts on demand, without any Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) requirements
Lower inventory costs and warehousing expenses with on-demand sourcing.