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HX5 billets. Photo Credit: Alpine Advanced Materials

Alpine Advanced Materials (Dallas, Texas, U.S.) introduces HX5 billets for faster, more exact advanced material prototyping capabilities. Billets are offered in various sizes that can be machined just like metal without the expensive outlay of creating an injection mold. Overall, Alpine expects billet manufacturing will cut costs, timelines and uncertainties, inspiring more clients to embrace the environmental and operational benefits of lightweight parts and components by using advanced materials.

According to the company, HX5, a lightweight aviation-grade thermoplastic nanocomposite developed by Lockheed Martin Skunks Works (Palmdale, Calif., U.S.) , was engineered to replace machined aerospace-grade aluminum at half the weight. Offering users a high strength-to-weight ratio, thermal stability, environmental resistance and manufacturing flexibility, it can be injection molded, formed, extruded or machined like aluminum, enabling component manufacturers to make complex but strong shapes. Further, using this material, Alpine says, components can be readily manufactured and mass-produced in weeks versus the months typically needed for machined metal parts.