So Lukis founded the Protomold Company, and from it, Proto Labs, Inc. Lukis, a successful entrepreneur and computer geek, took his company public in 2012. Now Proto Labs is announcing some enhancements to the company’s Fineline Additive Manufacturing service, and the changes are aimed at enabling the prototyping and low-volume production company to ship 3D printed parts — as fast as one day.
“It’s our goal that the new quick-turn, additive capabilities will make it even easier for them to do just that,” Lukis says.
Proto Labs incorporated additive manufacturing into their existing CNC machining and injection molding services in April 2014, and for the last few months, the company has built the 3D printing capabilities of the service.
“We’re extremely excited that customers can now get additive parts built with the same one- and two-day turnaround time as our other manufacturing services,” says Rob Connelly, the vice president of additive manufacturing at Proto Labs. “We work with engineers every day who are developing products in industries like medical, lighting and aerospace, and many need parts as fast as possible in order to bring products to market faster.”
The company says it can produce a complex, selective laser sintered part of 3.5 x 1.6 x 3.7 inches in size from PA 650 (Nylon-12) material for as little as $183, or a complex direct metal laser sintered part of 0.25 x 0.67 x 1.6 inches in size from stainless steel 316L and printed at high resolution in 20 micron layers for $211.
Have you ever used Proto Labs to output your 3D designs? Let us know in the Proto Labs Turn SLS and SLA Parts Around forum thread on 3DPB.com.