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This CARES Act Project Gives 3D Printers To Michigan Manufacturers To Make Medical Devices—And A Whole Lot More

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One core lesson from the medical supply chain fiasco early in the pandemic was that we need a much more robust, resilient and local manufacturing capability to quickly produce large amounts of PPE for future health crises. While there was a heroic effort by hundreds of manufacturers across the country to react quickly to last year’s PPE shortages and shift production to those vitally-needed products, the lack of preparation beforehand resulted in the short-term depletion of necessary medical goods such as masks, face shields and respirators during the most difficult days of the crisis. Now a collaboration between Automation Alley, a non-profit Industry 4.0 advocacy and knowledge center, and 3D printer manufacturer Markforged is piloting a unique approach to improving that situation in Michigan.

Automation Alley, based in Troy, Michigan, was founded in 1999 by the late Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, with an eye toward fostering the technology sector for the state. Today, Automation Alley has over 1,000 members across industry, academia and government and works with the World Economic Forum to promote Michigan as a global advanced manufacturing hub. Markforged was founded in 2013 by Greg Mark. Based in Watertown, Massachusetts, it has $137 million in total funding and about 250 employees globally, and boasts “the largest online fleet of industrial 3D printers in the world.” It announced recently that it’s going public via a SPAC later this year.

The collaboration is called Project DIAMOnD (an acronym meaning “Distributed, Independent, Agile Manufacturing on Demand”). It’s leveraging that need for manufacturing capabilities for on-demand medical materials such as  PPE to establish a quick-response production hub in Michigan’s Oakland and Macomb counties, just north of Detroit, while also helping participating small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) manufacturers to accelerate their digital transformations.

The effort is the brainchild of Tom Kelly, Executive Director and CEO of Automation Alley. Last April, Sean Carlson, Oakland County Deputy Executive overseeing Economic Development, had received funds from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. “He gave $10 million to help SMEs understand the need for Industry 4.0,” said Kelly. “I proposed getting them geared up to make PPE with 3D printers. We partnered with Macomb County, since between our two counties we have 50% of Michigan manufacturing.”

When it came to their 3D printing partner, their focus had to go beyond the making of PPE. “We partnered with Markforged because they have the best printer for non-PPE applications,” Kelly explained. “They’re the best at very high-quality, strong parts, with no post-production requirements.” That was a critical aspect of the project, since the funding is being used to provide a printer to each participating manufacturer free of charge, to be used locally to advance its own business during normal times. But for a crisis like the pandemic, the 3D printers are networked together for centrally-directed production of needed medical devices. “We developed a blockchain system to have the printers all behave together,” he added.

“We were already working on a digital network to allow automotive OEMs to print parts on demand,” said Shai Terem, CEO of Markforged. “This is unique to Markforged—controlling printers remotely. You push a button, and can be printing without any human operator at the printer. You just go pick up the part when it’s finished. There’s no need for additional tech, since Markforged is already on the cloud. They just utilized our existing technical capabilities.” That was particularly important, as many of the SMEs involved had no previous experience with 3D printing.

For the SMEs, Project DIAMOnD is a tremendous opportunity to advance their own businesses while helping set the stage for a more rapid response to future health care-related and similar crises. Each participating company receives a Markforged carbon fiber 3D printer free of charge, either a Mark Two or an X7 model. “One of our participating Project DIAMOnD companies had a stainless steel valve they made for one of the machines they produce,” Kelly said. “They liked the strength of carbon fiber, so they redesigned the valve to be printed on their machine. The cost to make it out of stainless close to $100. The cost to produce it in carbon fiber is $1. Now they’re reevaluating everything on their machines.” Earlier this month, Project DIAMOnD reached its goal of 300 participating companies. The SMEs are required to sign a three-year agreement to keep their machines in good operating order, to keep them on the network at all times, and to be ready to make PPE if required.

One of the SME manufacturers with experience in additive manufacturing (AM, another name for 3D printing) is CAM Logic, an engineering design and manufacturing company based in Oxford, Michigan. They produce low-volume parts, prototypes, and fixtures and tooling for the automotive industry. Because of their experience, they’ve become a key player in the project. “We’ve been in AM for quite some time, and four years ago established a partnership with Markforged,” said Angelo Biondo, VP at CAM Logic. “AM is part of our business model—we go to market on our AM prowess. So Markforged asked us to provide technical support in Oakland County. We’ve had quite a bit of interaction with other Project DIAMOnD participants.”

They’ve played a key role in assisting those new to AM. “We’ve helped with everything from, ‘How do I get it out of the box,’ to, ‘Where do I place the fiber to make the part work?’ Biondo said. “Automation Alley and Markforged have done a wonderful job putting this together, with support and training, including lunch-and-learns. Other participants are raising their hand and offering assistance now.”

“We’re bringing the power of software to physical manufacturing,” said Michael Papish, VP of Marketing at Markforged. “For the leap from PPE to their own uses, we worked closely with the manufacturers with a full-on onboarding program.”

While the existing project is focused entirely within Oakland and Macomb Counties, Kelly sees much greater future potential for the concept. “Our goal is to have 1,000, and eventually 10,000, printers all across the Midwest,” he said. “It could change the manufacturing world. The business model that manufacturing has used for 50, 60, 70 years is in peril. The old way was that bigger equaled lower-cost. 3D printing turns that model on its head. Capital and overhead could become a liability, not an asset.”

Terem agreed. “It’s a new state of mind. You don’t have to be stuck in the old ways anymore. We can optimize parts—for example, CNC cutting tools that are 3D printed with directional cooling channels built in. We can optimize materials—carbon fiber, Kevlar, stainless steel, aluminum, and so on. I definitely think it’s a new era for 3D printing after the pandemic. It can greatly help, and we don’t have to wait for critical supplies to come from other countries anymore.”

“We think the technology we’re building is remaking how we produce things,” added Papish. “It took about 40 years for electrification in manufacturing to take off. The pandemic in 1918 played a role in that. 3D printing is about 35 years old now, and we see an inflection point. This latest pandemic has given us a moment to ask ourselves, ‘How do we do this better?’ We believe in a future where our printers are distributed right to where parts are needed.”

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