01 · Tool shop
Where the mold is born
Designed on CAD stations, cut on CNC machining centres with programmable tool changers — programmed by day, run lights-out at night.
How a mold gets builtHaas machining centres — Cobourg tool shop
Precision molds. Molded parts. One roof.
Protoplast has designed and built injection molds in Cobourg since 1981 — and runs them on its own production floor. Design review, tooling, first shots, full production: your part never leaves the building.
Protoplast Inc. · Injection molding specialist
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Shop floor — Cobourg16 machines · 38 to 600 tonnes
1981
Founded in Cobourg
55,000 sq ft
Design, tooling, R&D and production
16 machines
38 to 600 tonnes clamping force
4 sectors
Automotive · electronics · medical · industrial
What we do
The mold, the part, and everything after.
Most molders buy their tools. Most tool shops never run production. Protoplast does both, which is why a part can go from a review meeting to boxed goods without changing hands.
01
Mold making
A fully equipped tool shop builds production and prototype molds in-house — QC-10 aluminum through hardened H13, chosen for the part, the resin and the volume.
Tooling division
02
Custom injection molding
Straight injection, over-molding, two-component and injection blow molding, with in-process vision and real-time monitoring at the press.
Molding division
03
Secondary operations
Ultrasonic welding, heat-stake inserts, pad printing, CNC plastic removal and assembly — on cycle at the press, or in dedicated work cells.
Value addedUnder one roof
Walk the floor, division by division.
These are Protoplast's own photographs — the tool shop, the presses, the work cells and the assembly lines at 210 Willmott Street.
Scroll to cross the plant
02 · Molding floor
16 machines, 38 to 600 tonnes
Fully automatic presses, many of them high-efficiency electric, set up with operator stations doing light assembly and finishing on cycle.
Molding divisionProduction presses — main floor
03 · Secondary operations
Finished, not just molded
Welding, inserts, printing and machining happen a few metres from the press, in cells built for the part they serve.
Five operations, in-houseDedicated work cell — secondary operations
04 · Assembly cells
7,500 sq ft of assembly
Robotic cells and manual assembly since 2012, with tooling and maintenance next door for fixtures, repairs and continuous line improvement.
Assembly divisionAssembly cell — molded components
One supplier
Single-source, mold and part.
One purchase order covers the tool, the molding, the finishing and the box it ships in.
Talk to the team→Industries
Four sectors, one discipline.
The parts change — a GM air seal, a bank PIN pad, a caribou tracking collar. The tooling discipline behind them doesn't.
- S-01AutomotiveGM and Tier 1 programs, SPC integrated, just-in-time delivery
- S-02ElectronicsHandheld PIN pads, IonScan filters, photocopier and surveillance parts
- S-03MedicalHand-molding for short runs, face shields, ventilator components
- S-04IndustrialGPS housings, pool-cover rollers, wildlife tracking hardware
Proven under pressure
Twelve GM ventilator parts, running in four weeks.
When General Motors started its ventilator line during COVID-19, Protoplast was selected to mold 12 components — tooled and in production in 4 weeks, on work that typically takes 14 to 18. The same floor had just opened a second plant: SUR Manufacturing in Querétaro, Mexico, molding automotive parts since October 2019.
12GM ventilator components
4 weeksto full production
12,000 sq ftQuerétaro plant, 4 presses
Start with a design review
Bring the part. We'll talk tooling.
The first meeting is a discovery process: your requirements, the resin, the volumes — and an honest read on the best tooling choice for the money.