Airtech and Ascent Aerospace accelerate on AM tooling for aerospace and defense

Airtech Advanced Materials Group, a leader in specialty-formulated materials for additive manufacturing (AM), and Ascent Aerospace, a prominent provider of aerospace tooling solutions, have formed a strategic partnership to advance the use of large-format additive manufacturing tooling in the aerospace and defense sectors. This exclusive supply agreement is aimed at enhancing the adoption of cutting-edge polymer composite additive tooling across some of the most demanding applications in the industry.

Gregory Haye, Director of Additive Manufacturing at Airtech, emphasized the importance of the collaboration, stating: “We are excited to collaborate with Ascent Aerospace to support the initiative to supply high-performance, large-format printed tooling in some of the most challenging applications in the industry.”

Dan Friz, Vice President of Business Development and Sales at Ascent Aerospace, highlighted the value of Airtech’s material expertise, adding: “This agreement with Airtech ensures Ascent’s customer’s technical requirements are achieved, allowing Ascent to focus on delivering a tooling solution that meets the program’s cost and schedule expectations.”

Impact on the aerospace and defense sectors

As part of this collaboration, Ascent Aerospace has committed to using Airtech’s resin products exclusively in its large-format additive manufacturing processes. This ensures that the highest quality standards are maintained for aerospace tooling production. To support this initiative, Airtech will provide Ascent with advanced technical support and business development assistance, helping to drive the adoption of additive manufacturing in aerospace.

The partnership is also focused on delivering rapid, cost-effective tooling solutions. Ascent has implemented additive manufacturing capabilities to meet the growing need for faster development cycles in aerospace, both in the commercial and defense sectors. By relying on Airtech’s material science expertise, Ascent ensures that its products meet the rigorous technical requirements of the aerospace industry.

This partnership is expected to significantly contribute to the broader adoption of additive manufacturing tooling in aerospace, where fast-paced development cycles and stringent technical demands make rapid and reliable tooling solutions essential. The collaboration between Airtech’s material science expertise and Ascent’s production capabilities represents a major step forward in the evolution of tooling for aerospace applications.

Showcasing the partnership at CAMX 2024

Airtech will be presenting this collaboration and showcasing its latest advancements in additive manufacturing at CAMX (Composites and Advanced Materials Expo) from September 10-12 at the San Diego Convention Center, booth S5.

By combining Airtech’s advanced materials with Ascent’s expertise in aerospace tooling production, this partnership aims to deliver innovative and reliable additive manufacturing tooling solutions, accelerating their adoption in both commercial and defense aerospace sectors. The collaboration underscores the growing importance of polymer composite additive tooling in meeting the evolving needs of the aerospace industry.