Protolabs invest £10.5 million in 3D printing

The custom prototyping and production parts manufacturing company Protolabs have spent £10.5 million to boost their 3D printing capabilities by over 50%. The investment is linked to increasing demand for this service.

A new 5,000m2 production facility is being built in Putzbrunn, Germany. The facility will help the company meet the growing demand for their automated manufacturing processes, quality systems, low-volume production parts and bespoke prototypes.

The coronavirus pandemic hasn’t halted construction on the new facility. The shell of the building is expected to be completed by the end of 2020. From May 2021, fit-out and machinery installation work will begin. The company plans to add 25 additional machines and a range of innovative modern equipment to its existing infrastructure. A new CNC machining centre is also planned, and this will come with a 5-axis milling machine to enhance the finishing of 3D printed parts. There has also been considerable investment in a new painting, colouring and automated finishing systems, and more capital has been put aside for extra 3D printing solutions further down the line.

Protolabs have already spent £5 million on a new extension at their Telford-based European HQ. Many of its clients are based in heavy industry and the medical, electronics, aerospace and automotive sectors.

Producing 3D parts even faster

Vice president and managing director of Protolabs Europe Bjoern Klaas said one of the company’s primary goals was to “produce 3D parts even faster”. “When a finished design enters our online ordering platform it goes through a short feasibility check by our expert design team and then on to be printed. The new facility will give us the capacity to speed this process up even more to real time”, he added.

Klaas said plans were in place to move all departments from its Feldkirchen base to Putzbrunn and that the investment would give the company a “larger production area and 50% more capacity”. He said it would now be “able to deliver even more projects in as little as one day.”

The company is able to manufacture certified medical devices under ISO 13485. It’s thought that the new German base will support its UK activities thanks to extra employees and improved work processes. It describes itself as a “quick-turn manufacturer that helps product development teams minimise design risk, accelerate time to market and reduce production costs”.