Oxford Performance Materials
OPM OXFAB-Ni
OXFAB®–Ni Plated Fan Exit Guide Vane (22” H)
Oxford Performance Materials has announced the commercial launch of nickel-plated OXFAB-NI, which is based on Polyetherketoneketone (PEKK).
The latest supportive material of OPM’s OXFAB technology, OXFAB-NI delivers high performance parts for aerospace and industrial applications. OXFAB technology is ideally suited to applications which could benefit from functional complexity and weight reduction, namely in the aerospace, satellite, and defence spaces. OPM’s technology can also deliver cost, energy and time-to-market savings, defined in a set of specified performance attributes in OPM’s B-Basis database, developed in conjunction with NASA and Northrop Grumman.
“We are very pleased to commercially launch OXFAB-NI as this proprietary technology builds on our existing product portfolio to provide our customers with a new high performance additive manufacturing solution,” said Lawrence Varholak, President of OPM Aerospace & Industrial. “With the launch of OXFAB-NI, OPM can now offer our aerospace and industrial customers nickel-plated, fully functional end-use 3D printed structural parts with a flexural strength-to-weight ratio equivalent to high performance titanium alloys such as 6AL-4V.”
The principal material of construction for OXFAB-NI is OPM’s proprietary PEEK formulation, OXPEKK. This high performance polymeric material has an extraordinary range of benefits that include robust mechanical performance, extreme temperature tolerance, high purity, gamma stability, and extremely high chemical resistance.
OXFAB-NI boasts similar strength and weight attributes as high performance aluminium alloys, while acting as an effective shield against radiation. Additionally, it has a near limitless shape and can withstand temperatures of up to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. OXFAB is an elegant merger of the world’s highest performance thermoplastic and the world’s most robust and advanced additive manufacturing technology. This results in industrial structures that are said to meet or significantly exceed the performance expectations in multiple industrial sectors, including aviation, defence, energy, semiconductor, and nuclear.
