Telford-based Protolabs (www.protolabs.co.uk), a digital manufacturer of custom prototypes and low-volume production parts, is now guaranteeing specific dimensional tolerances for each type of plastic injection moulding resin that it uses.

After extensive testing, the company is offering customers a machining tolerance of ±0.08mm and a resin tolerance between 0.002 and 0.010mm/mm, depending on the material.

David Barnes, injection moulding product manager, said: “For some applications, such as interference parts, dimensional tolerance is extremely important.

"We can now guarantee the tolerances of all our 50 stocked resins, and we can advise on the accuracy of the other 1,500 available to our customers around the world.


For the stocked resins, the tolerance will be shown when customers upload their design and select their chosen material as part of our ProtoQuote system — this information becomes part of the ‘design for manufacturability’ analysis that is typically available within a couple of hours.

“Speed is important in today’s market, and part of that is getting the design and manufacture of the part right first time.

"Our new resin tolerance guarantee is just one example of our continuous improvement process, to make sure that our customers are satisfied with our service and the information that we provide to help them do their job better.

"In addition, recent investment in our metrology laboratory enables us to measure and certify parts and prototypes more quickly.”