Oakland County is ramping up its efforts to provide local businesses with training and access to industrial-grade 3D printing machines. The latest batch of widgets and parts produced by these machines is ready to be showcased.
Key Takeaways
Oakland County has opened the new Digital Transformation Center in Auburn Hills.
The center offers free 3D printing training and access to qualifying local businesses.
The initiative is part of Project DIAMOnD, launched in 2020.
Funded by $15 million in pandemic-era stimulus funds.
Aims to expand participation to 250 businesses by 2026.
Digital Transformation Center Opens in Auburn Hills
On Tuesday, County Executive Dave Coulter officially opened the new Digital Transformation Center, a 23,000-square-foot 3D printing production and training warehouse in Auburn Hills. The center is available free of charge to qualifying businesses in the county.
The facility is owned by Geofabrica, an Auburn Hills-based company specializing in advanced manufacturing processes. It is equipped with Israeli-made 3D printing machines purchased with county grant funds.
Project DIAMOnD: A Pandemic-Era Initiative
The Digital Transformation Center is an initiative of Oakland County's and Automation Alley's Project DIAMOnD, which was launched in 2020 to help local businesses produce hard-to-source personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic using 3D printing. Some Macomb County businesses also participated.
Funding and Future Goals
Funded by $15 million in pandemic-era stimulus funds, the Digital Transformation Center offers 3D printing training and access to small- and medium-sized manufacturing, engineering, and design firms that apply via the Project DIAMOnD website.
So far, 38 businesses have been approved, and county officials hope to expand participation to 250 businesses by 2026.
Competing on a Global Scale
“This helps us to compete for contracts with folks in China, in South Korea, in Germany, and all across the country," Coulter said. "This helps us keep manufacturing right here in the United States, here in Michigan, and — near and dear to my heart — here in Oakland County."
Geofabrica's Role
Geofabrica played a crucial role in designing and building the Digital Transformation Center. Its employees are responsible for maintaining the equipment.
Geofabrica CEO George Caravias gave tours of the center, showcasing the printers and related equipment housed in special climate-controlled enclosures.
Real-World Applications
Caravias highlighted a roundish, gray piece of molded plastic produced as part of a prototype cancer detection machine for a medical device company. He also displayed custom-made, 3D-printed finger splints designed by a local group of hand surgeons, which are believed to be superior to ordinary finger splints.
"There are many cases where you can 3D print a part or a component that would really be unmanufacturable — parts within parts, parts that are already assembled, or parts that have geometry that would be practically impossible to produce by any other means," Caravias said.
Sources
Oakland Co. steps up effort to bring 3D printing to local businesses, Detroit Free Press.
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