Protolabs turns CAD files into parts in under 24 hours

Protolabs is a digital manufacturing company headquartered in Maple Plain, Minnesota, that has built a platform enabling rapid conversion of CAD files into finished parts in under 24 hours. The company operates across four core manufacturing disciplines: CNC machining, injection molding, 3D printing, and sheet metal. Rather than relying on traditional job-shop workflows—where each part order requires manual quoting, design review, and setup—Protolabs has automated many of these steps.

At the center of this automation is Marc Kermisch, who serves as Chief Technology and AI Officer. Kermisch leads the company's global technology organization, which oversees software product development, the evolution of the digital manufacturing platform, and enterprise-wide AI and research & development strategies. His mandate spans automated quoting systems, AI-driven design-for-manufacturability tools, and pricing algorithms. With over 25 years of executive experience driving digital transformation in traditional manufacturing and industrial operational environments, Kermisch specializes in integrating software, cloud solutions, and automation into sectors that have historically relied on manual processes.

The design-for-manufacturability capabilities represent a key differentiator: these AI systems assess whether a customer's CAD design can be produced efficiently within Protolabs' equipment constraints and suggest optimizations if needed. This automation allows the company to accept, validate, and price orders at machine speed rather than human speed. By compressing the quoting and design-review cycle, Protolabs enables customers—manufacturers, engineering firms, and product developers—to move from concept to physical prototype or small production run in a single day, a pace that would be prohibitively expensive or time-consuming through traditional job shops.