Creating the Future

The demand for constant innovation is one of the top challenges facing design engineers, no matter the industry. At the same time, this demand offers developers significant opportunities to bring innovative solutions to market.

Digital manufacturers like Proto Labs help power those innovative solutions that design engineers will be creating, by:

• accelerating upfront development time;
• enabling engineers to design better parts; and
• reducing costs and other risks.

Consulting firm CIMdata estimates that digital manufacturing improves time-to-market by 30 percent.

Speed

Proto Labs delivers prototypes and low-volume production parts quickly. Our automated quoting system provides interactive quotes within a few hours, parts within days. Designers and engineers also like our short manufacturing turnaround times that support multiple design iterations. Bottom line: development is accelerated, products are launched to market faster than before.

Better Parts

That automated quoting system mentioned includes free design analysis for every part quoted, which highlights potential problems and provides immediate solutions. Applications engineers are also available to discuss design challenges and offer support. Plus, Proto Labs provides a suite of manufacturing services to give developers a mix of manufacturing options that include 3D printing, CNC machining, and injection molding.

Reduce Risk

Proto Labs also helps reduce overall supply chain risk through:

• cost-effective aluminum tooling that validates design before moving to steel tooling;
• manufacturing scale to relieve capacity issues and production delays; and
• on-demand production to manage demand volatility.

Real-World Examples

Examples abound of companies that have turned to Proto Labs for digital manufacturing help. Three recent examples:

• Defense contractor Harris

  Corporation received insert-molded parts within 15 days, in contrast to a traditional molder that quoted two to three months.

• Tech company Whoop Inc. saved more than two weeks in overall prototyping and now sets its line of wearable fitness products on 1-year, 18-month and 2-year cycles to compete with Fitbit and Apple.
• A German automotive OEM had parts molded and shipped in less than seven days for an engineering pilot run.

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