Jamco America, Airtech partner for 3DP tool recycling

Jamco America Inc., an aerospace interior products supplier and turnkey aircraft interiors integrator, is partnering with Airtech Advanced Materials Group, a global provider of composite manufacturing consumables and supporting materials, to offer 3D printing (3DP) tool recycling. The partnership enables faster production of finished goods with reduced risk and cost and a lower total carbon footprint. By embracing sustainable products and practices, Jamco and Airtech are advancing environmentally conscious aerospace manufacturing.

The partnership between Jamco and Airtech began in 2006, with Airtech supplying composite manufacturing consumables and supporting materials to Jamco. In 2021, the collaboration expanded into large-format additive manufacturing (LFAM) tooling. Jamco’s goal is to explore LFAM technology for high-temperature applications, aiming to overcome the limitations of traditional composite layup tooling. This promises to significantly reduce lead times and supply chain delays while enhancing performance and reducing the risk of defects in finished parts.

The LFAM molds produced by Airtech use Airtech’s Dahltram I350CF thermoplastic resin, a fully recyclable polymer. Depending on the application's requirements, Airtech can grind up and compound this resin into a blended or 100% recycled formulation. Ongoing testing at Airtech aims to validate the best blended formulations for high-performance applications such as aerospace tooling and molds.

Through this innovative partnership, Jamco and Airtech aim to enhance product quality, reduce lead times, lower production costs, and minimize environmental impact, promoting greater sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and safety across the industry.

Everett, Washington-based Jamco has developed premium class seating for commercial aircraft, providing oblique facing business class seating such as the Venture reverse herring-bone business class seat that is currently in service on Boeing 787 and 777 aircraft.

Airtech Advanced Materials Group is the largest privately-owned manufacturer of vacuum bagging and composite tooling materials for prepreg/autoclave, resin infusion, and wet lay-up processes up to 799°F (426°C). The Airtech Advanced Materials Group encompasses Airtech International Inc. in the USA (Huntington Beach and Chino, California; Springfield, Tennessee), Airtech Europe Sarl (Differdange, Luxembourg), Airtech Advanced Materials UK (Chadderton, England), Airtech Asia (Tianjin, China), and Airtech India (Goa, India). Its product line includes vacuum bagging films, release films, pressure sensitive tapes, mold releases (non-liquid), peel plies, breathers and bleeders, sealant tapes, vacuum bag connectors and hoses, rubber, pressure pads, cutting tools, vacuum leak detectors, shrink tape, PTFE coated fiberglass, tooling prepregs and resins, and carbon and glass reinforcements.