Is It Time to Try Direct Digital Manufacturing?

Over the past 20 years, additive manufacturing technology has migrated from use in rapid prototyping to a full-fledged manufacturing solution, which is referred to as “direct digital manufacturing” (or rapid manufacturing). Increasingly, companies are applying it to manufacturing applications, and with each success, they prove that it is a viable alternative. While the general concept of additive manufacturing is the same as when it was introduced 20 years ago, the change is in its intended use — production, not just prototyping. So while the concept has been around for a while, in the minds of many, direct digital manufacturing (DDM) is a new and difficult concept to understand.