Proto Labs Inc's Business Segments

Proto Labs, Inc. was incorporated in Minnesota in 1999. We are an e-commerce driven digital manufacturer of quick-turn, on-demand custom parts for prototyping and short-run production. We manufacture parts for product developers and engineers worldwide, who are under increasing pressure to bring their finished products to market faster than their competition. We utilize injection molding, computer numerical control (CNC) machining and 3D printing to manufacture custom parts for our customers. Our proprietary technology eliminates most of the time-consuming and expensive skilled labor conventionally required to quote and manufacture parts. Our customers conduct nearly all of their business with us over the Internet. We target our products to the millions of product developers and engineers who use three-dimensional computer-aided design (3D CAD) software to design products across a diverse range of end-markets. We have established our operations in the United States, Europe and Japan, which we believe are three of the largest geographic markets where these product developers and engineers are located.

Our Injection Molding product line uses our 3D CAD-to-CNC machining technology for the automated design and manufacture of thermoplastic, metal or liquid silicone injection molds, which are then used to produce custom injection-molded parts on commercially available equipment. Our Injection Molding product line is used for prototype, on-demand and short-run production. Prototype quantities typically range from 25 to 100 parts. Because we retain possession of the molds, customers who need short-run production often come back to Proto Labs’ Injection Molding product line for additional quantities typically ranging up to 10,000 parts or more. They do so to support pilot production for product testing or while their tooling for high-volume production is being prepared, because they need on-demand manufacturing due to disruptions in their manufacturing process, because their product will only be released in a limited quantity or because they need end-of-life production support. These additional part orders typically occur on approximately half of the molds that we make, typically accounting for approximately half of our total Injection Molding revenue.

CNC Machining

Our CNC Machining product line uses commercially available CNC machines to cut plastic or metal blocks into one or more custom parts based on the 3D CAD model uploaded by the product developer or engineer. Our efficiencies derive from the automation of the programming of these machines and a proprietary fixturing process. The CNC Machining product line is well suited to produce small quantities, typically in the range of one to 200 parts.

3D Printing

Our 3D Printing product line includes stereolithography (SL), selective laser sintering (SLS) and direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) processes, which offers customers a wide-variety of high-quality, precision rapid prototyping and low volume production. These processes create parts with a high level of accuracy, detail, strength and durability. 3D Printing is well suited to produce small quantities, typically in the range of one to 50 parts.