For years, additive manufacturing has promised engineers greater design freedom. The challenge wasn’t printing the part—it was proving the part belonged on an aircraft.
Designing a lightweight bracket or consolidating a complex assembly into a single printed component has never been the difficult part. The real challenge has been demonstrating that an additively manufactured polymer can consistently meet the performance requirements of production aerospace applications.
Engineers trust data — not promises.
That’s why the publication of independently developed NCAMP qualification data and B-basis design allowables for HexPEKK® represents something much bigger than the introduction of another high-performance polymer. It marks an important step toward making structural additive polymers easier to evaluate, qualify, and implement in demanding aerospace programs.
A Material You Can’t Get Anywhere Else
HexPEKK is available exclusively from ADDMAN—making ADDMAN the exclusive production source for this independently qualified material.
HexPEKK combines PEKK with carbon fiber using selective laser sintering (SLS) technology.
The result is a high-performance additive manufacturing material engineered for applications where reducing weight cannot come at the expense of strength, thermal stability, or chemical resistance.
HexPEKK delivers the design freedom engineers expect from additive manufacturing while offering the mechanical performance needed for demanding aerospace and defense applications. Engineers can consolidate multi-piece assemblies into monolithic components, reduce weight, simplify manufacturing, and produce geometries that would be difficult—or impossible—to manufacture conventionally.
Today, HexPEKK supports applications ranging from structural brackets and environmental ducting to connector housings, thermal management systems, and other flight hardware.
Why NCAMP Qualification Matters
The additive manufacturing industry is full of impressive material datasheets.
Tensile strength. Heat deflection temperature. Elongation.
Those numbers are important—but they don’t tell the whole story.
When a part is destined for a production aircraft, engineers need more than published material properties. They need independently generated data that demonstrates repeatable performance across multiple builds, orientations, environmental conditions, and manufacturing lots. That’s the difference between a material that’s interesting and one that can be confidently designed into an aerospace program.
HexPEKK became the first carbon fiber reinforced PEKK additive manufacturing material to receive independently developed NCAMP qualification through the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR). The resulting qualification includes published B-basis design allowables, giving aerospace engineers statistically validated material properties that can be used to support certification efforts.
That’s what makes HexPEKK different.
HexPEKK isn’t just qualified—it is already flying. The material has been adopted across multiple aerospace production programs supporting structural brackets, environmental ducting, connector housings, thermal management systems, and other flight hardware.
While many additive materials rely primarily on manufacturer-generated property data, HexPEKK is supported by independently developed mechanical testing, environmental conditioning, process specifications, and statistical analysis through the National Center for Advanced Materials Performance (NCAMP) at the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR). Engineers aren’t simply reviewing a vendor datasheet—they’re working from an independently validated qualification framework.
That distinction matters.
NCAMP qualification follows an established qualification framework widely recognized throughout the aerospace industry. The qualification process evaluates thousands of test coupons and specimens across multiple build orientations, environmental conditions, material lots, and production builds to establish repeatable, statistically significant material performance.
For engineering organizations, this means less uncertainty during material selection and a more established path toward certification.
From Qualification to Production
Qualification alone isn’t enough.
Production capability matters just as much.
ADDMAN manufactures HexPEKK parts at its New York facility, combining additive manufacturing with CNC machining, inspection, assembly, and decades of experience processing high-performance PEEK and PEKK materials. Customers can move from early design iterations through production within a single manufacturing ecosystem while maintaining process control throughout the program.
With excellent thermal and chemical resistance, electrostatic dissipative (ESD) properties, and a high strength-to-weight ratio, HexPEKK has become a compelling option for engineers seeking alternatives to aluminum and conventionally manufactured polymer assemblies.
Produced using selective laser sintering (SLS), HexPEKK combines the design freedom of powder bed fusion with independently validated material data—giving aerospace engineers greater confidence during design and qualification.
Most importantly, those engineers no longer have to rely solely on manufacturer claims. They have independently generated data to support their decisions.
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As importantly, those engineers no longer have to rely solely on manufacturer claims. They have independently generated data to support their decisions.
HexPEKK represents that shift. As an exclusive ADDMAN material backed by independently developed NCAMP qualification and published B-basis allowables, it gives aerospace engineers something the additive industry has historically struggled to provide: confidence backed by independently validated data.
Watch ADDMAN’s on-demand webinar featuring experts from ADDMAN and the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) to learn how HexPEKK was qualified, what NCAMP certification means for aerospace programs, and how engineers are putting this exclusive material into production today.
Have a specific application in mind? Connect with an ADDMAN materials expert to discuss whether HexPEKK is the right fit for your program.