300 Small Manufacturers In Michigan Got Free 3D Printers. What They Did With Them Might Surprise You.

Ultimation Industries, a manufacturer of conveyor systems, is one of 300 companies in the metro Detroit area t0 receive a free 3D printer as part of a local government program. The idea, akin to the federal Defense Production Act, is that, in exchange for the $20,000 professional-grade 3D printer from Markforged, small and medium-sized manufacturers promise to make things, such as PPE or whatever else is needed, in an emergency.

Although the program began in 2020 with PPE in mind, this army of agile manufacturers armed with 3D printers has been strengthening their supply chain resilience and lessening reliance on foreign products ever since.

Called Project DIAMOnD for Distributed, Independent, Agile, Manufacturing On-Demand, it is poised to become the world’s largest emergency-response network for 3D printing physical objects on demand. Locally, over the past two years, the program has helped small manufacturers realize cost savings and flexibility they didn’t know was possible with 3D printing. They’ve printed parts to keep their lines operational and versatile in the face of disruption and uncovered new business opportunities.

“There is boundless potential for 3D printing, and it’s starting to unfold in Michigan,” says Tom Kelly, executive director and CEO of Automation Alley, which manages Project DIAMOnD and is a World Economic Forum Advanced Manufacturing Hub. The project is poised to become the world’s largest emergency-response network for 3D printing physical objects on demand.

3D Printing For Ukraine

Although program participants did print PPE, more recently, the network was activated to 3D print components for tourniquets needed in Ukraine. According to Automation Alley, 3D printing is the ideal technology to produce needed parts in times of crisis, like wartime and pandemics, because of its flexibility and speed. The tourniquet clip could not be easily produced using conventional manufacturing, such as injection molding, because of the time-consuming step of mold making and costs. But distributed, with each participant 3D printing just a dozen or so components, the cost and time was not disruptive to their core businesses. The part designs were shared digitally and production ramped up quickly. Ultimation Industries was one of the first to start churning out parts.

“As a manufacturer, Project DIAMOnD has allowed us to aid in humanitarian efforts when called upon while experimenting with 3D printing and innovating for our own business,” says Richard Canny, president of Ultimation Industries.

When the printers are not being used to fulfill emergency orders, participating manufacturers put them to use in various ways. Many of these manufacturers had never considered employing 3D printing in their businesses, while others thought they couldn’t afford it or didn’t have the skills to make the most of it.

“By reducing the financial risk, providing interactive training, and creating a connected network of users, Project DIAMOnD has filled a much-needed gap in Michigan’s manufacturing ecosystem,” says Pavan Muzumdar, Automation Alley COO.

To date, the project has attracted an impressive list of contributors and supporters, with Markforged leading the way with its Mark Two and X7 carbon-fiber desktop 3D printers and its Eiger 3D printing software. Also participating are Microsoft, Autodesk, and on-demand manufacturing software maker 3YourMind.

Convincing Small Manufacturers to Bet on 3D Printing

“3D printing has been something we were always interested in, but we were skeptical about how to incorporate it into our industry,” says Joshua Tucker, head of purchasing at Tucker Induction Systems in Shelby Township, Mich. “Since 95% of the material we use has to withstand high heat in a harsh environment, I am surprised as to what we have been able to print so far like tooling to help us build our induction coils to smaller support details that we were able to install on our coils that are running in the field.”

Tucker says that by 3D printing manufacturing tools, his company has reduced the time for some projects from roughly two weeks to a few days. “By designing and 3D printing one fixture that allowed us to hold multiple details at one time, we eliminated several machining steps and multiple machine setups, and drastically reduced man hours on a job, saving the company money and improving lead time.”

Steve Michon, president of Zero Tolerance in Clinton Township, Mich., received his first Markforged 3D printer in 2021 and has since bought two more. His company designs and manufactures plastic injection molds but expanded services since incorporating 3D printing.

“With our printers, we’ve made multiple fixtures for customers, loading tools, and end-of-arm tooling, in addition to the tooling we make for our own processes internally, says Michon. “With our design background and CAD skills, we really can now offer a whole other service that we didn’t before, which has opened us up to new customers.”

Zero Tolerance now offers a range of 3D printing for product prototyping and final end-use parts as well as design services to other manufacturers. Michon gives back to the Project DIAMOnD network by helping fellow program participants, such as the time a call went out for anyone who could help one participant, an electrical supply manufacturer, overcome his supply chain problems. “We ended up drawing [digital designs for] a couple of pieces that he needed so he could 3D print them in-house very inexpensively, and he could make as many as he wanted,” says Michon. The electrical supply manufacturer eventually purchased two more 3D printers to ramp up production of the part.

Jim Miller, CEO of Rochester Hills-based Air & Liquid Systems, says his company is using its 3D printer to print a part that was previously made of stainless steel and cost about $100. Now it costs them only $1 to 3D print it out of carbon fiber. Their printer is placed in their engineering area to make the engineers more curious about what else they can create, shifting the way they think about production and their business.

There isn’t a success story behind every one of the 300 3D printers. At the regular meet-ups and lunch-and-learn sessions for program participants, Michon says he has gotten to know companies that have created new products and streamlined workflows, and others that are having a hard time finding an application for the technology.

One of the hurdles, Michon suggests, is the digital design skills required to create parts to be 3D printed in the first place. Recently, Project DIAMOnD received funding from the State of Michigan’s Going Pro Talent Fund to train 37 individuals from 20 companies in the network on advanced concepts in 3D printing and design.

“As businesses are forced to change and adapt, they are finding new ways to get the job done—and Industry 4.0 technologies such as 3D printing are leading the way,” says Muzumdar.

Eventually, Automation Alley hopes to expand beyond Michigan, establish a community-governed marketplace for 3D printed products and services, and explore opportunities for 3D printing nontraditional materials and working with collaborative robots and AI-as-a-service.

“When we first got involved, we had no experience in 3D printing, and we had a hard time visualizing how we could incorporate it into our company,” says Tucker, “but once you start to shift your mindset, the possibilities are truly endless.”