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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 II 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:

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