Digital manufacturing is at the cutting edge of its industry and there are new and innovative ways to do things coming into action almost monthly. For businesses just entering the industry or looking to branch out in it, Protolabs new Insights series is the best place to start.
The idea behind the Insight series is to help make better use of digital manufacturing and the services that the company offers. But rather than just putting out endless white papers or complex blog posts on the topic, the company decided to go down the video marketing route.
Learn the visual way
According to Protolabs, the idea behind creating the Insight videos was to help ‘design better parts for digital manufacturing’ with useful tips that can save companies time and money. By making them into videos as opposed to white papers, they can make the content easier to consume and more user-friendly.
The first video in the series walks through how to bridge the gap between prototyping and production. Bridge tooling is a way to get a new product onto the market in a much shorter time frame than would be possible with conventional tooling as well as to test products in real life with customers. This helps to refine the product at a lower cost than normal.
Pros and cons of digital manufacturing
With their videos, Protolabs are keen to show both the pros and cons of digital manufacturing, although they firmly believe that the plus points are far greater than any potential downsides.
For example, they are quick to point out that rapid injection moulding isn’t identical to traditional production tooling. However, the system is close enough that it is ideal to solve a number of problems. Most importantly, it dramatically cuts down the time to market, allowing the creation of final steel moulds in a much shorter time frame.
Who can use their services?
Protolabs have created their informative video series to cover the burning questions across their industry and focusing on different industries that they work with. This is highlighted by some of the main industries that are already using their processes.
In the medical industry, digital manufacturing allows the efficient creation of new healthcare products ranging from connected devices to mass personalisation of products. The rapid prototyping, bridge tooling and low volume production are key for this.
In the aerospace industry, digital manufacturing is being used to create fully-functional aerospace components including early prototyping and design validation. Similarly, for automotive companies, products such as onboard connectivity, self-driving components and electric vehicles are all be tested with digitally manufactured components.
Industry leading information
Protolabs are offering industry leading products and services and now with their Insight video series, they are offering extra help or inspiration for businesses seeking to use their systems. The videos are free to view and available on their website, with a new issue being released every Friday. You can also see their YouTube channel to catch the latest video walkthrough.
