Oxford Performance Materials
OMP Boeing Company OXFAB part
OXFAB Complex Structural Component Additively Manufactured by OPM for the Boeing CST-100 Starliner
High performance additive manufacturing company, Oxford Performance Materials has announced a second round of strategic investment from Hexcel Corporation worth $10 million.
OPM, also a leading company in advanced materials science, received financial backing of $15 million in the summer of 2016. The partnership between the two companies was agreed in a bid to accelerate OPM’s carbon fibre reinforced 3D-printed parts, specifically for the biomedical, aerospace and industrial sectors. This new round of financial backing has come about in a bid to reinforce OPM’s status in these markets, expanding capacity to meet growing market demand, particularly for the company’s OXFAB technology.
A developer of proprietary material, process and application technologies, OPM’s Aerospace and Industrial business unit applies 3D printing technology and high performance additive manufacturing (HPAM) to produce fully functional end-use parts. These components combine structural strength, enhanced performance, weight reduction and time-to-market benefits for its customer base.
Meanwhile, Hexcel is a global leader in advanced composites technology with headquarters in Connecticut and manufacturing locations worldwide. OPM’s Aerospace and Industrial unit utilises Hexcel carbon fibre in the production of its 3D-printed OXFAB-ESD advanced thermoplastic structural parts for its aerospace, satellite and defence programmes.
It was recently announced that OPM will supply Boeing with around 600 3D-printed OXFAB structural production parts for the airline company’s CST-100 Starliner. The Starliner is designed to transport seven passengers to low-Earth orbit destinations, such as the International Space Station. Announced in January, the deal has already seen OPM begin shipping OXFAB parts ready for installation.
Founded in 2000, OPM exploits and commercialises the world’s highest performing thermoplastics, with a focus on poly-ether0ketone-ketone (PEKK). The company has gone on to develop proprietary material, process and application technologies, as well as apply HPAM to produce industry-standard end-use parts. Its flagship OXFAB technology offers structures with significant weight, cost and time reductions, that are defined in a set of specified performance attributes in the exhaustive OPM B-Basis database, developed in conjunction with NASA.
