Protolabs has introduced ProDesk, a new online platform, aimed at product development and procurement teams.

The company said ProDesk combines automated quoting, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered design analysis and order management tools. It said ProDesk integrates real-time quoting with design for manufacturability, or DFM, analysis across its core services. Protolabs is a Minnesota-based digital manufacturer. Its core services are injection molding, CNC machining and 3D printing.

Protolabs said it designed ProDesk to provide immediate feedback on part designs before production begins.

“To better serve our customers from prototyping to production, ProDesk serves as the ultimate manufacturing resource for innovation,” said Suresh Krishna, president and CEO, in a statement. “We are excited to deliver an online experience that elevates Protolabs as a tech-enabled partner for quality parts throughout the entire product life cycle.”

The company did not provide financial projections related to the launch.

About Protolabs’ ProDesk procurement platform

ProDesk enables users to configure quotes by selecting materials, finishes and secondary operations. It updates pricing and lead times in real time, the company said. Customers can adjust turn times to balance cost and delivery needs.

Protolabs said the AI-driven DFM analysis provides automated guidance on manufacturability. It flags potential design issues before parts move to production. The company did not disclose the underlying AI models or investment associated with the platform.

The platform includes a “Production Catalog.” It allows customers to designate approved parts for ongoing manufacturing and reorder them without restarting the quoting process. It also consolidates order history, documentation and shipment tracking within a dashboard interface.

Users can share quotes and orders across internal teams, allowing engineers, buyers and project managers to collaborate within the system, according to the company.

ProDesk also features a support center for billing, documentation and quality records, along with direct access to Protolabs applications engineers for design assistance.

Mark Flannery, Protolabs’ global product director for ecommerce, said the company intends for the platform to modernize customer experience.

“Our goal with ProDesk is to deliver an online environment that modernizes the experience of working with Protolabs,” Flannery said in a statement. “The nearly 50,000 customers who will access ProDesk this year will now have an industry-leading online experience that will accelerate product development timelines.”

Protolabs, founded in 1999, has built its business around automated quoting and rapid-turn manufacturing. The launch of ProDesk consolidates those capabilities into a single interface as manufacturers and procurement teams increasingly seek digital tools to shorten product development cycles and streamline supplier management.

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