Protomold's New Look



Visit the new and improved Protomold.com

The Internet has always been our storefront, and while we liked our old web site well enough, we thought it was due for a facelift. So, as of February 15, we have an all-new web presence at www.protomold.com. The decision was partly driven by the sheer amount of information we've added—news, Design Tips, our quarterly Journal, and more—along with system demos, live access to the improved ProtoQuote® online quoting engine, and dozens of very flattering customer testimonials.

Some of the best links can be found on our Resources page. That's where you'll find, among other things, our design guidelines, a handy glossary of industry terminology, and links to about 20 companies whose work has impressed us and/or been useful to our customers. In other words, there's a lot of interesting stuff there. We hope you'll check it out when you've got a few minutes.

First Cut Prototype™ (FCP)



	Introducing First Cut Prototype

We've got a new division. But while it's definitely part of Protomold, they don't do any molding there, so they needed their own name. Since they apply the kind of technology we use for moldmaking to direct machining of prototype parts, we named it First Cut Prototype.

Using proprietary software and heaps of computer power, FCP combines the advantages of rapid prototyping—blazing speed and low cost—with material choices and surface finishes superior to rapid prototyping. So if you need just a very few parts but you need them really fast, say, with next business day turnaround, check out FCP at www.firstcut.com or call (763) 479-8600.

First Cut Prototype will be at Rapid 2007 on May 1-3, 2007 in Detroit, MI (Booth #1200), so stop by to learn more.

Next Business Day Quick Turns!



Next Business Day Turnaround Service

Call it sibling rivalry, but when the folks who manage Protomold's injection molding operation heard that First Cut Prototype would be offering next business day turnaround on CNC machined parts, it sounded like a dare. (Up until then, they'd figured that three-day turnaround with a choice of resins was pretty slick.) So, as you might have guessed, Protomold is now offering a super-premium, next-business-day-turnaround service on simple injection molded parts.* That's right! If you get your approved 3D CAD model in by 10:30 AM, you can have finished parts shipped on the next business day. Take that, FCP!

*Certain restrictions apply. See protomold.com/fwd/restrictions for details.

Extra! Extra! Get Your Rapid Injection
Molding Journal



	Protomold's Rapid Injection Molding Journal

It's thoughtful. It's informative. It's hot off the PDF press. It's the latest issue of our quarterly journal. Our theme this quarter is "breakthroughs," the big discoveries that open up whole new vistas for exploration.

Our explorations for this issue took us pretty far afield, including to (well, not literally "to") The Great Wall of China. We were discussing obstacles and their relationship to breakthroughs, and we got to wondering why China's Great Wall worked so well for so long against the Mongol horde. Why, we wondered, were the Mongols not able to simply scale the wall with ladders as so many European attackers did when faced with castle walls. Turns out that they could, and did. The problem was that the Mongols were an equestrian army, and they were never able to figure out how to get their horses to climb ladders. Nice going, Emperor Shi Huangdi!

If you receive these email updates, chances are good that you also get the Journal by mail. If, however, you don't, you can access it online at http://www.protomold.com/Journal.aspx. Come take a look.

Protomold's New Look

First Cut Prototype™ (FCP)

Next Business Day Quick Turns!

Extra! Extra! Get Your Rapid Injection Molding Journal

Extra! Extra! Get Your Rapid Injection
Molding Journal