Protolabs Puts Software at the Center of Making Parts

Digital manufacturing, with software in charge

Protolabs is based in Maple Plain, Minn., and its pitch to engineers is built around end-to-end prototyping-to-production solutions across CNC machining, injection molding, 3D printing, and sheet metal. The useful detail for manufacturing professionals is where the emphasis sits: not only on machines, but on the software layer that gets a part from design intent toward production.

Marc Kermisch is the Chief Technology and AI Officer at Protolabs. His remit is broad by design.

He leads the Maple Plain, Minn.-based company’s global technology organization, overseeing its software product development, digital manufacturing platform evolution, and enterprise-wide artificial intelligence and research & development strategies.

That scope matters because Protolabs also points to automated quoting, AI-driven design for manufacturability, and pricing strategy services. For engineers under schedule pressure, the hard problem is rarely just cutting metal or molding resin. It is the handoff: quote, DFM feedback, price, process selection, then production. Protolabs is presenting those steps as one connected manufacturing system rather than a chain of disconnected transactions.

Experience meets a wider automation market

Kermisch brings over 25 years of executive experience in digital transformation, with a focus described as integrating software, cloud solutions, and automation into traditional manufacturing and industrial operational environments. That background fits the current moment. Q2 2026 robotics demand increased across industries, according to A3, a sign that automation buying is not confined to one niche.

The adjacent headlines are mixed, which is usually how real adoption looks. Uber is selling its stake in Serve Robotics. Notip Robotics offers delivery services. San Mateo County could be the first to regulate humanoid robots for commercial use. In other words: demand is rising, business models are still being tested, and local rules may start shaping deployment.

For manufacturing teams, the Protolabs case is less about hype and more about compression—fewer gaps between CAD, quote, manufacturability feedback, and a production process. RoboBusiness 2026 is open for registration with early bird discounts available, another marker that the automation conversation is moving from pilot projects toward operational decisions.