The Protolabs Network Standard
Quality documentation
Certificate of Conformance
A Certificate of Conformance certifies that a particular order has been delivered with the required order specifications. Certificates of Conformance are available for CNC and SM only.
| Additional pricing | $30 |
| Additional lead time | None |
| Technology | CNC, SM, IM |
| Minimum order value | None |
| Required | On the quote |
| Provided | Once the parts are produced, along with shipment information of the parts |
| Additional testing required by Protolabs Network or Protolabs Network network | No |
| Template | Certificate of Conformance template |
RoHS Certificates of Compliance
RoHS stands for Risk of Hazardous Substances. It is a legal requirement in EU. It is typically required to ensure that parts have been manufactured responsibly. RoHS compliance is available for all CNC orders. It denotes that the following hazardous substances have not been used in the material or finish of the order:
- Cadmium
- Lead
- Mercury
- Hexavalent chromium
- Polybrominated Biphenyls
- Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers
- DEHP
- BBP
- DBP
- DIBP
| Additional pricing | 60 (euros/pounds/dollars) per material and finish combination |
| Additional lead time | 5 working days |
| Technology | CNC |
| Minimum order value | None |
| Required | Through your account manager or Protolabs Network contact |
| Provided | Once the parts are produced, along with shipment information of the parts |
| Additional testing required by Protolabs Network or Protolabs Network network | Yes |
| Template | RoHS Certificates of Compliance template |
REACH Certificate
A REACH Certificate declares that the materials used to manufacture the products, including packaging, do not contain more than 0.1% of hazardous substances as per the ones listed in the European REACH regulation. It is similar to RoHS, but does not require additional testing per order to certify it.
| Additional pricing | $30 |
| Additional lead time | None |
| Technology | CNC, SM |
| Minimum order value | None |
| Required | Through your account manager or Protolabs Network contact |
| Provided | Once the parts are produced, along with shipment information of the parts |
| Additional testing required by Protolabs Network or Protolabs Network network | No |
| Template | REACH Certificate template - EU |
| REACH Certificate template - US |
Material Certificates
Material Certificates are typically requested by customers to ensure the material provided meets their standards. Material Certificates are available for all materials. For metals, a material test report is encouraged instead. Material Certificates replace material test reports for First Article Inspection in Plastics.
| Additional pricing | None |
| Additional lead time | None |
| Technology | CNC, IM |
| Minimum order value | None |
| Required | Through your account manager or Protolabs Network contact |
| Provided | Once the parts are produced, along with shipment information of the parts |
| Additional testing required by Protolabs Network or Protolabs Network network | No |
Material Test Report
A Material Test Report certifies that the chemical analysis and mechanical properties are in conformance with the specified material specification. It’s also known as a mill-test report. Material testing is carried out by a third party quality lab.
Material test reports are only available for metals. We test the following on a sample from the production batch:
- Chemistry testing
- Tensile test
- Hardness test
Material Test Reports will be part of the First Article Inspection for Metals as a standard.
| Additional pricing | 250 (dollars/pounds/euros) |
| Additional lead time | 3 working days |
| Technology | CNC, only metals |
| Minimum order value | None |
| Required | Through your account manager or Protolabs Network contact |
| Provided | Once the parts are produced, along with shipment information of the parts |
| Additional testing required by Protolabs Network or Protolabs Network network | Yes |
| Template | Material test report for metals |
Dimensional Inspection Report (CMM)
A Dimensional Inspection Report is a quality report where the critical dimensions of a small batch of a full order are inspected and recorded compared to the tolerances allowed. In order to prepare a Dimensional Inspection Report, we typically need to know the following:
- Critical dimensions (indicated by a customer on technical drawings)
- Batch size (usually set by a standard).
- Parts to be inspected
Dimensional Inspection Reports can be conducted manually or automated with a CMM machine. Some dimensions will not be reachable by CMM and will be inspected with manual tools. The tool used is always indicated in the DIR report.
| Additional pricing | Depends on critical dimensions, batch size and number of different parts. $105 minimum, free for orders above $10,000USD |
| Additional lead time | 5 working days |
| Batch size | To be specified. Batch sizes will be according to ISO 2859 General Level I with no rejects |
| Technology | CNC |
| Minimum order value | None |
| Required | Through your account manager or Protolabs Network contact |
| Provided | Once the parts are produced, along with shipment information of the parts |
| Additional testing required by Protolabs Network or Protolabs Network network | Yes |
| Additional requirements | Balloon drawings are required. Critical dimensions must be indicated (circled and numbered) in the technical drawings |
| Template | Dimensional Inspection Report Template |
First Article Inspection (FAI)
"First Article Inspection" or FAI, is an option that Protolabs Network offers in order to validate parts compliance to specification before "Mass Production". The customer will receive a subset of parts with a set of FAI documentation for approval before continuing with full production of the order.
First article inspection (FAI) is a formal method of providing a reported measurement for each manufactured feature of a part or assembly. Typically the supplier performs the FAI and the customer reviews or approves the report. The evaluation report consists of assuring all the properties and features are compliant to its specifications for example a drawing. Despite the name, the inspected article may not necessarily be the 'first' produced, but an item or random sample of parts from the first production lot.
To proceed with FAI we need to know the following:
-
Critical dimensions (indicated by a customer on technical drawings)
-
Batch size (usually set by a standard)
-
Parts to be inspected
FAI includes the following documents:
-
Document certifying material compliance - this differs between metals and plastics
-
Metals: Material Test Report
-
Plastics: Material Certificates
-
-
Production Flowchart
-
Production Control Plan
-
Parts Acceptance Letter
Approval process
The customer will have 1 week to approve the sample parts upon delivery. For approval, the customer will have to sign the parts acceptance letter
-
Approved: MP will continue with the full production run and the rest of the order will be fulfilled normally
-
Disputed due to quality: This will be dealt with as a normal dispute, the customer can cancel the order or request a remake.
-
Declined due to design: The customer can cancel the full order and will have to pay for the price of the sample sets
| Additional pricing | CNC metals: 250 (pounds/euros/dollars)/line item CNC plastics: 250 (pounds/euros/dollars)/line item |
| Additional lead time | 15 working days |
| Batch size | According to internal standard (3 or 5 pieces) or special customer request |
| Technology | CNC |
| Minimum order value | None |
| Required | Through your account manager or Protolabs Network contact |
| Provided | Once the parts are produced, along with shipment information of the parts |
| Additional testing required by Protolabs Network or Protolabs Network network | No |