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The Digital Thread

Your blog feed for manufacturing resources, in-depth features, and industry news.

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Plastic Injection mould part
injection moulding
07/01/2022

Injection moulding – What are the advantages and disadvantages?

Learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of Injection moulding and how to help minimise moulding costs
By Matthew Hatch
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pad printing ,part marking

Part Marking using Pad Printing and Laser Engraving

A common finishing option for companies is to mark parts using pad printing or laser engraving.
By Protolabs
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Threaded Inserts with Heat Staking and Ultrasonic Welding

Threaded Inserts with Heat Staking and Ultrasonic Welding

Get threaded inserts on injection-moulded parts for added durability and to connect multiple components together.
By Protolabs
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Vapour Smoothed Part
3D Printing
07/07/2021

How vapour smoothing takes the surface quality of 3D printed parts to the next level

How vapour smoothing takes the surface quality of 3D printed parts to the next level
By Matt Hatch
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injection moulding analysis
Tech Tips
20/10/2020

What's Changing by Service Line: Injection moulding

In this particular article we’ll take a look at the new platform for when uploading parts for injection moulding – Protolabs’ world-leading service for rapid prototypes and end-use production parts.
By Matthew Hatch
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Delrin part examples
Materials Science
28/01/2020

Delrin Material Properties Offer Strong, Versatile Plastic Alternative to Metal

Consider Delrin as an excellent plastic replacement for metal because of its strength, versatility.
By Protolabs
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50th anniversary of moon landing
Cool Idea
17/07/2019

A 'Cool Idea' That's Beyond The Moon

Exactly 50 years ago this month, all eyes were set on the moon as Neil Armstrong took that momentous small step. But these days humans dream of walking and even living on Mars.
By Matt Hatch
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Flame-Retardant Thermoplastics and UL Classifications
Tech Tips
01/03/2019

UL 94 Classification and Flame-Retardant Thermoplastics

An overview of thermoplastics with flame-retardant characteristics and the UL 94 classification.
By Protolabs
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Mould being milled
Tech Tips
20/02/2019

5 Tips for Saving Time and Money on Your Mould Tool

With product development and manufacturing lead times constantly shortening, what can design engineers do to reduce the time and cost involved with making a mould tool?
By Saleem Shariff
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Painting and finishing at Protolabs

Protolabs: Secondary Services

Secondary services may be required to meet the process control, functional or cosmetic (typically branding or labelling) needs for a specific project. The necessity of these additional services are determined by that specific need.
By Matt Hatch
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Production at protolabs
Industry Spotlight
06/12/2018

The UK’s Government’s Industrial Strategy opens with a bold claim...

Its aim, it says, is to boost productivity by backing businesses to create good jobs and increase the earning power of people throughout the UK.
By Bjoern Klass
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Injection moulded living hinge
Tech Tips
05/12/2018

3 Tips for tackling complex features in moulding design

Designing for plastic injection moulding is like raising teenagers—some parts (and some teens) are more challenging than others. But by following a few simple rules, even the most difficult of these challenges can be overcome (parenting aside).
By Saleem Shariff
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