Proto Labs

First, I'll start by saying that we have used them in the past and the experience was ok because everything for our early orders went ok but they have "NO CUSTOMER LOYALTY".

We purchased a part from then in Delrin and paid for the tooling. After a few years they destroy the tool that you pay for so when you order again, you need to pay for another tool. We learned the hard way that they will not accept a Purchase Order from your company because they want no responsibility whatsoever. Although they send you a quote for an item that you requested, they send a link to your quote which doesn't have your drawing information loaded. What I mean by this, we were told that they had our 2D drawing and 3D model on file when they quoted the item, but they did not include our material. The quote they sent was really a link to a do it your self quote. Our purchasing department didn't realize that they had set the default material to some really cheap ABS material and when our parts came in they were all bad.

Having dealt with them before, and having paid for the tool in the past which they destroyed because there was a few years in between orders, we made the crazy assumption that as a company they would stand behind their products and the crazy situation we were in, but instead we got a, well it's not our problem.

Please do yourself a favor and go out to other vendors. We found that there were other reputable companies who were just as cheap and will never destroy the tool that you pay for. It is obvious to me that they pay a substantial price to stay high on the search optimization list and they can afford to since they have no issue ripping off a customer!

So disappointed in or dealings with them.

we use firstcut as one of our vendors for our prototyping service. they offer 3 distinct prototyping services each with specific descriptions. we used their firstcut service and when we spoke with their team members, this was the best option for our rapid prototyping needs. it also fit due to the functional testing needs we were looking for with our prototyping. we used their Ultem and peek metals for the production and they used production equipment for the creation. this was a specific detail of the service we liked because eventually it would save us time on bringing the product to production. we used firstcut 3 times for our prototyping services and are currently in talk to have them develop our 4th project. we have enjoyed the partnership we have had and are continuing to have. as mentioned previously, there was a delay in the communication spectrum of our partnership but it never delayed the production or result of our product. they are only located on the east coast and our facility is in the west coast so it did only give us a limited time frame for real-time communication to be established per day

Strengths: 3 types of specific prototyping services that are meant to be more specific to client needs, fast turnaround time, one point contact through the development process

Needs to improve: pricing, communication turnaround was lacking (but product delivery time was always maintained)

Proto Labs does more than just take your CAD designs, machine your parts, and ship them back to you. This company is filled with talented, passionate engineers who strive to optimize your design, save you money, while providing a meaningful customer experience. Not only did I feel that I was getting all the support and services I needed, but knew that the price point was right on par with what I was expecting. Proto Labs also provides intuitive, and easily to understand, up-to-date educational materials related to design, material selection, rapid prototyping, and other engineering functions.

Strengths: Incredible customer service and relatively quick turn around time. Over the phone, and online engineering recommendations about your project help drive your work to be the best it can be, while making the most of your time. They understand your time is valuable and you need your parts ASAP.

Needs to improve: The only downside of using Proto Labs, like most other outsourced prototyping services, is that it is outsourced and not in-house. Having to deal with the lag time related to fulfillment and delivery of parts is an annoyance to design engineers actually trying to "rapid prototype".

Never use Protolabs. Their billing is esoteric and impossible to manage. The finished goods were not to spec and clearly not within their capabilities. We were in a bind and needed to take advantage of their turn times and we paid for it. All but one of the components were completely unusable.

I have submitted many parts through Proto Labs and have had great experiences with all of them. Most of the time I will receive a quote in less than one business day, and then a few days after I will get a phone call making sure I did not have any questions regarding my part. Sometimes, what they can produce is limited by the CNC machine capabilities, but I believe they have just added a 3D printing service which should help to remedy some of those problems. Overall a great service for quick prototype parts.

Strengths: fast prototyping, helpful customer service

Needs to improve: what they can produce is sometimes limited by their equipment, but they are most of the time able to offer a work around option

The great thing is Protolabs/ First Cut is their extremely fast. They are interested in getting parts to their customers quick - the basis for their company philosophy.

Strengths: The great thing is Protolabs/ First Cut is their extremely fast with parts. For a small fee you can have your parts expedited in a week. They are interested in getting parts to their customers quick - the basis for their company philosophy.

Needs to improve: They cannot hold tight tolerances on the parts. They do have a limit on the overall size for their parts - at the time it was less then 8" in length. That may have changed as I have not used them within the last year or so. Again they cannot get second operations or sourcing done.

I have sent several quotes to Proto Labs/First Cut because they can turn around parts quickly. It is easy to get a quote, but a pain if you have threaded holes. They give you an initial quote, but then you have to go through each hole and say if it's tapped, and as you do that the price keeps going up. So all of a sudden the price is generally much higher than if I went with my local shops.

The support/sales folks are nice enough and don't push hard.

From the parts that I've seen come through from my co-workers, they are decent.

Strengths: Fast turn times.

Needs to improve: price and quotes if you need threaded holes.

Great experience. Have ordered from them more than once and will continue if I need one-off or low quantity parts. Great for manufacturing fixtures.

Strengths: The whole process is quick and seamless. The Quoting Process is quick and accurate. Costs are competitive and you get charged what the quoting system says. The orders can be made online and parts ship when made.

Needs to improve: Biggest weakness is that they offer no inspection services that I am aware of. The tolerances are a bit generous as well. So, it's not good for precision parts. Other weaknesses are that they don't have a Mac version of the part visualization plug-in and are ISO 13485 certified.

As our company grew we needed a better faster way to develop our products and this is when we reached out to Proto Labs to help with the prototyping of our products. The experience so far has been good. We've been able to partner with them to quickly iterate through our ideation and create one off samples that we can quickly determine if it would be feasible for our company to purse. Prices for their services are in line with competitors. Their team overall is very knowledgeable and great to work with.

Strengths: Prototyping

Needs to improve: None

Fast, high quality parts, quickly. They live up to their slogan. Some limitations when it comes to large parts, like panels for instruments, and I wish that they were able to do this at at low costs as well. Also some limitations on hard metals, but if you want small parts in plastic or aluminum, these guys are hard to beat.

Strengths: Fast turnaround, accurate parts, great quality

Needs to improve: Extremely expensive for larger parts (greater than ~8x8"), i.e. if you wanted panels

Fast Turn - Price is competitive - On Time Delievery is good - Quality is Fair

Strengths: Our R&D department use TapProtolabs/ First Cut as a source for their prototypes. They are one of our vendors we use for our prototyping projects. Their technical assistance support very good and responsive. Their pricing is competitive and they have reliable services. Their quality is very fair. Quotes are accurate and delivery is fast.

Needs to improve: They can have better quality.

I have had many rapid prototypes made with First Cut. The customer service is wonderful to experience and the prototypes arrive even quicker than quoted. I only had one issue with a customer fixture that a hole wasn't cut through and the customer service department very quickly fixed the problem. I appreciate a company that will go the extra mile like Proto Labs/ First Cut.

Strengths: Time, Quotes, Customer Service

Needs to improve: Accuracy

Firstcut has enabled the quick prototyping of one off parts and large volume components within days allowing for expediting of the development process.

Strengths: Very fast machining of plastic and metal parts.

Needs to improve: Firstcut does not always offer secondary operations such as threading. Not a big deal given the very rapid turnaround and the fact that one can very easily do this on their own.

Simply put, the experience with Firstcut was excellent. We are testing various devices and you are able to rapidly and affordably machine the necessary components. I am very pleased and will certainly use Firstcut in the future for similar needs.

Strengths: you get real materials, real functionality, and real value

Needs to improve: There are limitations, but weather or not the rapid prototyping is most efficient.

Every R&D engineer should get to know these guys. From solidworks model to part in your hand within 5 business days. Parts are generally within +/- .005" which is not too shabby for such a quick turn around. Prices can get high, but if you want speed, here it is.

Strengths: Fast and easy to use website

Needs to improve: Extremely small or large parts

Many of our R&D engineers have started to use this company to spit out faster prototypes of tooling and other basic design. It frees up their time to work on other projects. They are just now testing some of the companies engineering boundaries. So far they have been up for the test.

Strengths: Super fast, good customer service

Needs to improve: none

I don't know how these guys can handle the volume of work they get and still turn parts as quickly as they do. There expertise has literally shaved days off of the project schedule. I cant speak to large parts or metal parts but for small plastic CNC machined parts they are great.

Strengths: Fast turnaround

Needs to improve: N/A

We have purchased several iterations of a handle assembly from ProtoMold. The parts were produced using both their 3D printing and CNC capabilities, and were dimensionaly very close to nominal with good surface finish. They can then help transfer the design to their ProtoMold division to make even more parts.

Strengths: Rapid Prototypes

Needs to improve: none

My company uses Protolabs for fast prototyping our custom designs. We are all about innovating new products and Protolabs is an ideal company to help us realize our designs into reality. Their customer service is fantastic and their support team is always responsive.

Strengths: Quality 3D printing, competitive pricing, great customer service

Needs to improve: None

Proto labs' expertise has literally shaved days off of the project schedule. They can handle the volume of work they get and still turn parts as quickly as they do The small plastic CNC machined parts are great. With their great Customer Service, it's a complete satisfaction.

Strengths: quotes, customer service

Needs to improve: none