More than 25,000 flight-ready polymer parts were produced for Airbus in 2025, and more than 200,000 certified polymer parts were already in active service. The figures provide a useful way to understand how polymer AM volume can accumulate across recurring applications.
These are certified parts supporting Airbus A320, A350 and A400M programmes. They are produced using ULTEM™ 9085 filament Certified Grade on multiple industrial Stratasys FDM® printers.
At that level, polymer additive manufacturing has moved far beyond prototype builds and isolated demonstration parts. It is supporting aircraft production, fleet maintenance and repeat supply across several major programmes.
For aerospace and defence manufacturers in the GCC, this provides a clear reference for what can happen when suitable applications are developed into a wider production portfolio.
Airbus Started With One Spare Part
The route to 200,000 parts did not begin with a large production programme.
The first Airbus application was a spare component for a crew seat. From that starting point, the use of polymer AM expanded into further certified applications and additional aircraft platforms.
That development reflects how many manufacturers begin using additive manufacturing.
A company rarely starts with a complete catalogue of production-ready parts. It usually starts with a specific component that has a clear reason to be reconsidered:
- The original tooling is expensive or no longer available.
- The required quantity is too low for conventional production.
- The existing supplier has a long lead time.
- The component is creating a maintenance delay.
- The design would benefit from lower weight or fewer assembled pieces.
- The part needs to remain available throughout a long equipment lifecycle.
Once the first application is established, the production knowledge remains available for the next one. The organisation has experience with the material, machine, build preparation, inspection records and release process.
The second application begins from a stronger position than the first. Over time, individual applications become a recurring production workload.
Repeat Applications Build Production Volume
The exact part-number mix behind the Airbus total has not been published. The figures still show that polymer AM volume can grow across several aircraft programmes and many years of repeat use.
A single cabin bracket may only be required in hundreds rather than hundreds of thousands. The same production capability may also support covers, cable-routing components, ducts, interior fittings and replacement parts.
Each application contributes its own demand. Together, they create a substantial production portfolio.
Polymer AM is particularly well suited to this type of workload because separate components can be produced without separate sets of dedicated tooling. Approved digital files can move into scheduled production as parts are required, subject to the relevant controls and release requirements.
For manufacturers, this creates a route to production scale without depending on one exceptionally high-volume component. Scale can build through a growing family of repeat applications.
The Material and Process Route Are Already Established
The Airbus parts are produced using Stratasys FDM technology and ULTEM™ 9085 filament Certified Grade.
ULTEM™ 9085 has a high strength-to-weight ratio and meets flame, smoke and toxicity requirements associated with aircraft interior applications. The material has also been certified to an Airbus material specification for FDM production.
Applications associated with the material include bracketry, cable-routing components, covers and duct parts.
This combination of material performance, industrial printing equipment and controlled production gives aerospace manufacturers a route for parts that may be difficult to support economically through conventional manufacturing.
It also expands the role of the production AM cell. The same equipment can support new production, replacement demand, engineering changes and selected legacy components across the life of an aircraft programme.
The reported benefits include:
- Lower warehousing requirements.
- Reduced aircraft downtime.
- Shorter lead times.
- Less dependence on dedicated tooling.
- Reduced exposure to conventional supply-chain disruption.
- Continued access to low-volume replacement parts.
These benefits become increasingly valuable when aircraft and defence platforms remain in service for decades.
A 200,000-Part Installed Base Shows Industrial Maturity
Aerospace is one of the most controlled manufacturing environments in the world.
Materials, production processes, inspection records and release documentation all require close management. Parts must perform consistently and remain traceable after they enter service.
More than 200,000 certified polymer parts in active service shows that these requirements can be met through additive manufacturing.
The figure also moves the conversation beyond whether polymer AM is capable of producing flight-ready parts. The production record now covers a significant installed base and more than 25,000 additional parts in a single year.
The technology is proven. The work for other manufacturers lies in identifying suitable components, establishing the required controls and building repeat production around them.
The Same Production Logic Can Be Applied in the GCC
Saudi Arabia and the UAE are developing local aerospace, defence and advanced manufacturing capability at pace.
Local manufacturing, technology transfer and supply-chain development are central to industrial programmes across the region. Polymer additive manufacturing has a direct role to play in that development.
It gives local manufacturers a way to produce selected parts closer to the aircraft, defence platform or industrial site where they are required. It can reduce dependence on imported tooling, overseas minimum order quantities and extended international supply routes.
Potential application groups include:
- Aircraft cabin and interior components.
- Maintenance and replacement parts.
- UAV and defence-platform components.
- Ducts, brackets, covers and equipment housings.
- Production tooling and assembly aids.
- Low-volume parts for ageing equipment.
- Components affected by long supplier lead times.
- Customised parts required across several platform configurations.
D2M is already seeing this direction through its work with partners in the region.
Interest increasingly centres on how proven additive manufacturing technology can support local production, shorten supply routes and create sustainable in-country capability.
The Airbus record gives those discussions a credible production reference.
Local Capability Can Grow From a Focused Part Family
A GCC manufacturer does not need to reproduce the Airbus production network from the first day.
A local polymer AM programme may begin with a small family of repeat parts.
One may address a maintenance delay. Another may replace an expensive low-volume component. A third may remove the need for imported tooling or a large minimum order.
These early applications establish the production experience needed to expand.
Operators learn how to handle the material consistently. Engineers understand the design allowances of the process. Quality teams develop the inspection and documentation route. Customers begin to see locally produced parts moving through a controlled system.
Additional applications can then enter the same production environment.
This is how a production AM cell develops from a technology investment into a working manufacturing capability: named parts, repeat demand and an expanding portfolio built around a proven material and process route.
Polymer AM Is Already Operating at Production Scale
The Airbus figures provide a straightforward answer to any lingering doubt about whether polymer additive manufacturing can support serious aerospace production.
More than 25,000 flight-ready parts were produced in 2025. More than 200,000 certified polymer parts were already active across Airbus aircraft programmes.
The route began with one spare crew-seat component and grew through further applications, recurring production and continued use.
For aerospace, defence and industrial manufacturers in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the wider GCC, the opportunity is now to apply that proven route locally.
The first application may solve a specific supply or maintenance problem. The longer-term value comes as more suitable parts enter the same production capability and local polymer AM volume begins to build.
The technology has already proved that it can fly. The next production portfolio can be developed closer to the fleets, programmes and industrial operations that need it.
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