Two different models
Xometry and Protolabs are both large on-demand manufacturers, but they work differently. Xometry is a marketplace: you upload a model, an instant quote engine prices it, and the job is routed to a vetted partner shop from a wide network across many processes. Protolabs is a digital factory: it runs its own plants for CNC machining, injection molding, sheet metal, and 3D printing, tuned for very fast turnaround on prototypes and bridge production. Both offer strong instant quoting and broad process coverage, and both are good at getting early parts quickly.
Where a direct shop fits
Between a marketplace and a large digital factory sits a third option: a US production machine shop that makes your turned and milled parts itself.
Wexmar is a US CNC machine shop in Canastota, NY that ships nationwide. The shop runs 10 CNC lathes, 6 Mazak horizontal machining centers (3 and 4 axis), and 4 Maier MLK-32 Swiss lathes turning bar stock to 32mm diameter, with 2 Brown & Sharpe CMMs for in-house inspection. Work runs from one-off parts through long-run production. Wexmar is SAM registered (CAGE 16AD7), NIST 800-171 scored 110 of 110 in SPRS, DFARS-relevant, Buy American, and Made in USA. Quality is ISO 9001-aligned.
Wexmar does not try to match every process either of these platforms offers. It does not do 3D printing, injection molding, sheet metal, or 5-axis work. Its lane is turned, milled, and Swiss production parts made in the United States, with CMM inspection under the same roof and no routing layer between you and the machinist. For a turned shaft or a milled housing that you want held to a print and delivered from a domestic shop, that focus is the advantage.
Side by side
| Factor | Xometry | Protolabs | Wexmar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Marketplace network | Digital factory | Direct machine shop |
| Who makes the part | Partner shops | Protolabs plants | Wexmar, in-house |
| Process breadth | Very wide | Wide | Turning, milling, Swiss |
| Swiss to 32mm | Via network | Limited | 4 Maier MLK-32 Swiss lathes |
| Inspection | Supplier-dependent | Factory QA | In-house CMM |
| US compliance | Varies | US plants | SAM, SPRS 110/110, Buy American |
| Quote | Instant | Instant | Instant from a drawing |
How to choose
Pick Xometry when you want the widest process menu and network pricing. Pick Protolabs when speed on prototypes across several in-house processes is the priority. Pick a direct shop like Wexmar when the part is turned or milled metal, you want the maker accountable for the tolerance, and domestic production matters for Buy American or defense-adjacent work. See Swiss machining or get an instant quote.
Materials, tolerances, and lead time
Wexmar machines common and specialty metals for turned and milled work, including aluminum, stainless, carbon and alloy steels, brass, and bronze, with material choice driven by the drawing. The four Maier MLK-32 Swiss lathes handle small, tight-tolerance turned parts in bar stock to 32mm diameter, while the 6 Mazak horizontal machining centers cover 3 and 4 axis milled work. Every job can be checked on the shop's two Brown & Sharpe CMMs before it ships, and first-article and in-process inspection scale with the run. Lead time tracks material availability and quantity rather than a queue in someone else's plant, and the same drawing that priced the job runs it from prototype through production. Send a print to the instant quote page to start.
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