Boeing has qualified the Stratasys Antero 800NA thermoplastic to its repertoire of 3-D printing capabilities, which means the high-temperature material can now be used on flight parts for Boeing aircraft.
Antero 800NA is a PEKK-based polymer developed specifically for production-grade Stratasys FDM 3-D printers. Boeing has released specification BMS8-444 and added the 800NA material to the Qualified Products List (QPL) after an extensive evaluation of the material’s performance.
It is the first material from Stratasys qualified by Boeing for use in applications with elevated chemical resistance or fatigue requirements.
Stratasys Aerospace vice president Scott Sevcik said: “Boeing has recognised the tremendous utility of Antero to meet applications that could not have been 3-D printed before. Additive manufacturing (AM) has tremendous benefits for simplifying aerospace supply chains both in original equipment and MRO, but robust materials for meeting challenging flight requirements have been needed.”
The Antero family of materials includes 800NA as well as Antero 840CN03, which is an electrostatic dissipative (ESD) variant. Stratasys provides these materials both for customers who use the Stratasys F900 and Fortus 450mc 3-D printers and as a material option for on-demand customers through Stratasys Direct Manufacturing.
Stratasys is a global leader in 3-D printing technology and is the manufacturer of FDM, PolyJet, and stereolithography 3-D printers. The company’s technologies are used to create prototypes, manufacturing tools, and production parts for a wide range of industries, including aerospace, automotive, healthcare, consumer products and education.
For more than 30 years, Stratasys products have helped manufacturers reduce product-development time, cost, and time-to-market, as well as reduce or eliminate tooling costs and improve product quality. The Stratasys 3-D printing ecosystem of solutions and expertise includes 3-D printers, materials, software, expert services, and on-demand parts production.