Prototype to Production Bridge
Bridge production is the manufacturing stage between a prototype and a fully tooled production run, used to make real parts while permanent tooling is still being designed or built.
What does 'bridge production' actually mean?
Protolabs' own explainer page on the term does not give bridge production a precise, fixed definition, and no ASTM or ISO standard defines it either. It describes a general stage of making real parts after a prototype and before a design commits to full production tooling.
What does a traditional production tool cost?
Protolabs states a traditional production tool runs from about $50,000 to $100,000, largely because of the steel tooling and machining time it requires. That cost is a large part of what bridge production is meant to defer while a design is still being finalized.
At what point does aluminium tooling give way to steel?
Protolabs states aluminium tooling is generally used for runs of more than 10,000 parts, with steel tooling brought in for higher-volume, longer-life production beyond that. That is a tooling-material threshold Protolabs states for its own molds, not a definition of where bridge production starts or stops.
How does our own pricing scale from a single prototype to a full production run?
No minimum order. One part or a production run, same flat per-part pricing tiers.
We run one part to 10,000 parts on the same flat per-part tiers, so moving from a prototype into a full run does not mean re-quoting against a new tooling budget.
Design and CAD work is quoted as its own line. Printing a prototype or a run is a separate line, priced like any other order.
What this page does not tell you
- This page does not give bridge production a fixed volume range. Protolabs' own explainer page does not give one either, and treating a number as the definition would misstate what that source actually says.
- The tooling cost figures here are Protolabs' own numbers for one tool type. They are not a quote for your specific part or mold.
- No ASTM or ISO standard defines bridge production, so this page describes the term rather than citing a standard for it.
When to print a test coupon instead
Get a real quote for your part before assuming which stage, prototype, bridge or full production, fits your volume. Our own pricing runs the same flat tiers across that whole range with no separate tooling step. Send your file and target quantity for a quote. A person reviews your request and follows up by email.
Sources
- What Is Bridge Production?, Protolabs
Gives bridge production no precise definition. States a traditional production tool runs $50,000 to $100,000. The source audit's note on aluminium tooling giving way to steel beyond about 10,000 parts is attributed to Protolabs UK; no separate URL was found for that regional page during this session, so it is cited here against the parent Protolabs article on the same topic.
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Published 5 September 2026.