Proto Labs of Maple Plain, Minnesota, opened its Metrology Lab for digital inspections, and launched on-demand manufacturing for molded production parts.

According to company officials, “for years there has been a gap in manufacturing services for low-volume, custom molded components. Companies had to purchase in large volumes to meet the minimum order quantities often required by traditional manufacturers, and work with multiple vendors to address varied needs from prototyping to final part production. Both would add cost and time to part procurement. Now, Proto Labs has tailored its offerings to specifically address the needs of both prototyping and on-demand manufacturing.”

The metrology lab houses a range of standard inspection equipment, as well as state-of-the-art 3D scanners that provide an automated 360-degree look at parts within minutes, company officials explained. In addition to the standard range of First Article inspection Reports, Proto Labs also offers a digital inspection report that includes a precision surface scan with a detailed color map for a direct CAD-to-scan comparison to quickly identify dimensional variances on parts.

“Digital inspection reporting is a final checkpoint for the digital thread as it moves from CAD model to final part,” said Jeff Schipper, Director of Special operation at Proto Labs, and lead engineer in the metrology lab. “We’ve always provided our customers with front-end design analysis on their CAD models really fast, digital inspections bookend this process by significantly reducing the cost and time associated with conventional inspection reporting.”

“Since every manufacturing project is different, our two injection molding options let customers begin to focus on what is really needed from their tooling,” explained Becky Cater, global product manager for injection molding at Proto Labs.

“Whether it’s a product development need for molded prototypes or a strategic partnership for on-demand production parts, we now have a total solution for the entire lifecycle of a product,” she added.