New Trends and Developments in Direct Digital Manufacturing

Direct digital manufacturing (DDM), is advancing rapidly in capability and commercial potential. Directly from CAD data, parts are manufactured without traditional cutting, forming or casting methods. Some of the main developments of the recent past in DDM are discussed in this article. Microstructural and property data will be presented for each type of process, illustrating the benefits and limitations of direct digital manufacturing on various materials, and focusing on emerging and projected applications of metal and ceramic materials by direct digital manufacturing. The review is based on an extensive literature review covering academic publications, company documents and web site information.