Diamond Billiard Products, a manufacturer of high-performance pool tables used in professional tournaments worldwide, has modernized a core structural component of its tables by converting from wood to a molded composite solution. The change, developed in partnership with custom plastic injection molder Manar, reduces manufacturing time, improves durability, and streamlines tournament setup.
For decades, Diamond's table legs were made of wood, requiring cutting, shaping, sanding, finishing, and pre-assembly across multiple departments. Each leg involved 10 to 12 individual components and eight employees, with production taking up to three months from raw material to finished product. Brent Lykins, mechanical engineer at Diamond, explained the motivation: "I'm here to find better ways of doing things, approaches to reduce manufacturing time and enhance performance. The wood legs were very labor intensive. We wanted to streamline it."
Installation was also inefficient. At tournaments, installers had to access leveling nuts near the floor, often lying on their backs to make adjustments on uneven venues. The new design uses a side-access panel and battery-powered tool, allowing installers to work while seated. Legs can be adjusted up to 1.5 inches, making installation three to four times faster and improving ergonomics without sacrificing precision. At large tournaments with hundreds of tables, the time savings are substantial.
Diamond spent several years developing concepts and 3D-printed prototypes before partnering with Manar to refine the design for injection molding. The final material, 40% long-glass polypropylene, provides the strength required for structural performance. FEA validation confirmed the legs could support a 1,200- to 1,300-pound table with minimal deflection, and real-world stress testing—lifting and dropping tables—confirmed durability.
The operational impact is dramatic. Part consolidation reduced 10 to 12 wood components to a primary molded body with a foot block and shaft. Anthony Neeley, new business development and director of operations at Manar, noted, "This wasn't just about molding a part. It was about applying a design for manufacturability approach to meet the structural demands of tournament-level use and deliver measurable operational improvements." Manar provided guidance on material selection, part design, and tooling, and helped validate performance through analysis and testing. Diamond's facility is located near a Manar location, enabling close collaboration and rapid sample exchange.
Following the success of the legs, Diamond partnered with Manar to manufacture its table pockets. Previously, pocket components were molded domestically, shipped to Taiwan for leather wrapping, and returned, resulting in long lead times of up to three months, freight delays, quality fallout of up to 50%, and risk exposure. The new pocket consolidates parts, eliminates a production step, removes dependency on overseas finishing, uses automated molding with robotic insert placement, and offers improved durability with a modern matte black textured finish. The redesign mitigates risk, reduces scrap, and improves supply reliability.
By converting a core structural component from wood to composite, Diamond reduced labor and manufacturing time, improved installation ergonomics, increased durability, strengthened supply chain reliability, and maintained tournament-level performance. The partnership with Manar enabled Diamond to modernize a legacy product without compromising the quality players expect. More information about Diamond Billiard Products is available at www.diamondbilliards.com, and about Manar at www.manarinc.com.
