Automation Alley urges state investment to expand Project Diamond statewide

Lansing — Automation Alley told the Michigan House Economic Competitiveness Committee that Project Diamond, a distributed network of 3‑D printers and training resources, has produced measurable commercial output and should be expanded statewide to reach an additional 1,000 manufacturers.

"Project Diamond gives every Michigan manufacturer, from Marquette to Monroe, the tools, training, and network effects to thrive," Tom Kelly, chief executive officer of Automation Alley, said during testimony. Kelly said the network has completed 51,153 prints as of Aug. 12, 2025 and that counties and the governor have endorsed taking the program statewide.

Project Diamond began in 2020 as a pandemic-era effort to place 3‑D printers with small manufacturers so they could produce critical parts on demand. Automation Alley said the project matured into a commercial infrastructure: phase 1 deployed equipment to roughly 300 small and medium-sized manufacturers in Oakland and Macomb counties and connected the machines into a centrally orchestrated, secure network. Wayne County has since joined.

Why it matters: supporters say distributed digital manufacturing can shorten lead times, reduce suppliers' dependence on overseas tooling and mold costs, and help small manufacturers compete for defense and commercial contracts.

Supporters told the committee Project Diamond accelerated deliveries and cut costs in concrete examples. George Caravias, chief executive officer of Geofabrica, described redesigning a metal door handle for a military transport vehicle so it could be produced as a carbon‑fiber 3‑D printed part. Caravias said the redesign preserved required strength, reduced price to about half the original metal-and-overmold process and shortened a multi-month production run to weeks by distributing prints across the Project Diamond network.

"We were able to give these parts in weeks," Caravias said, describing how distributed printing let his customer ship finished doors on schedule.

Automation Alley also said the network has surge capacity for humanitarian needs: Kelly said, at the project's request, the counties activated the network to print tourniquet components for Ukraine, producing 10,000 parts in seven days.

Manufacturers on the witness panel asked the committee for more metal 3‑D printers in the network, small matching grants and continued workforce supports such as internship programs. Arvind Janlaghadda, chief technology officer of Synergy Additive Manufacturing (who goes by "AJ"), credited grants and state programs for helping his company scale and said Project Diamond's printers reduced his time from idea to production.

Funding and scale: witnesses said Oakland County invested $25 million in Project Diamond (about $10 million in phase 1 and $15 million in a later tranche). Automation Alley said Macomb County and Wayne County have contributed funding as well (witnesses cited roughly $2 million from Macomb and $5 million from Wayne). Representative Tisdale has requested $20 million in state funding to extend Project Diamond to 1,000 manufacturers across Michigan, witnesses said.

Accountability: Automation Alley said it tracks activity on the network and gathers metrics and anecdotes to show impact. Kelly highlighted the 51,153 prints figure as an activity metric and said the organization collects additional measures such as jobs completed, lead time reductions and supplier wins. The committee was offered site tours at the program's digital transformation center in Oakland County.

Committee concerns and next steps: members asked about workforce, electricity needs for advanced equipment, intellectual property protection, regulatory hurdles and Department of Defense cybersecurity requirements (CMMC). Kelly said Automation Alley proposes a shared, CMMC‑compliant cloud to reduce certification burdens on small firms.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of previous meeting minutes (moved by Representative DeBoer): approved by unanimous consent; no roll-call recorded.

- Motion to excuse absent members (moved by Representative Saint Germain): approved by unanimous consent.

The presentation concluded with committee members expressing interest in follow-up, tours of the Project Diamond facilities and consideration of state funding requests.