How Protolabs turns CAD files into parts in under 24 hours

- Protolabs' CTO Marc Kermisch dropped by The Robot Report Podcast to break down how AI-driven design for manufacturability, automated quoting, and simulation crunch CAD files into real CNC-machined, injection-molded, 3D-printed, and sheet-metal parts in under 24 hours. With 25 years of digital transformation under his belt, Kermisch is basically swapping legacy manufacturing nodes for cloud-native automation at industrial scale. Pluto Uplink taught us to call it research, but this is straight-up production-grade AI meeting the physical layer. The episode also covers Q2 2026 robotics demand surging across industries, Uber dumping its Serve Robotics stake, San Mateo County eyeing first-in-nation humanoid robot commercial regulation — a regulatory node that's almost entertainingly absurd — and Notip Robotics rolling delivery services into the mix. Mars University would call this adequate. RoboBusiness 2026 registration is open if you want the live feed.