Project DIAMOnD Digital Transformation Center Opens to External Print Orders

Project DIAMOnD has converted its Auburn Hills Digital Transformation Center into a fee-for-service manufacturing hub that will accept print orders from businesses outside the program’s membership, the organization announced Feb. 17, 2026. The change opens industrial polymer and metal processes - including polymer powder-bed fusion (SAF), high-performance and large-format thermoplastic FFF/MEX, and directed energy deposition metal printing - to small and mid-size manufacturers that previously relied on in-house hobby or office printers.

Pavan Muzumdar, CEO of Project DIAMOnD and COO of Automation Alley, framed the operational shift as a step toward production readiness: “The Digital Transformation Center was built to help companies move from experimentation with additive manufacturing to real production. By opening the DTC to businesses beyond our membership network, we're removing another barrier to adoption of this powerful technology and giving more companies a low-risk path to validate products, scale production and compete using additive manufacturing.”

The DTC’s service offering includes post-processing, inspection and validation tools, on-site industrial 3D scanners, and advanced modeling and measurement software to support reverse engineering and metrology workflows. AdditiveManufacturing Media’s coverage lists equipment suppliers in the DTC fleet such as Stratasys, Markforged, Meltio, and Trumpf, indicating a mixed polymer-metal capability designed for functional parts and tooling rather than desktop prototypes alone.

Design World and ProjectDIAMOnD materials describe a secure digital ordering portal where companies can upload designs, receive quotes, and work with DTC experts to select materials, processes and digital workflows that protect intellectual property and preserve process parameters for repeat production. The center’s stated use cases include functional prototyping, tooling, and short-run or bridge production that validates designs before capital investment in industrial equipment.

The move expands access to Project DIAMOnD’s broader statewide initiative; AdditiveManufacturing Media reports the program will distribute 550 3D printers, plus supplies and metal materials, to local manufacturers in two phases. ProjectDIAMOnD will continue grant-funded programs and training classes such as Introduction to AM Technologies and FFF-CFR Slicing and Printing even as the DTC operates commercially.

Sources emphasize that the DTC is “priced to be accessible for small and medium-sized manufacturers and makers,” but the announcement did not include per-part pricing, lead times, minimums, or a public portal URL. The DTC now targets customers “across the state and beyond,” offering a pathway to production-grade additive manufacturing without the capital expenditure of owning industrial systems.

For companies considering short-run production or product validation, the DTC presents a low-risk option backed by Automation Alley’s Project DIAMOnD network; Automation Alley and Project DIAMOnD are the contacts named in the announcement for follow-up on quotes, equipment specifics, and scheduling.