Plastic Injection Molding for Aerospace and Defense
Precision manufacturing and metal replacement
- High performance plastic
- Plastics up to 50% lighter than metals
- Flexible, custom designs
Benefits of plastic in the aerospace industry
Plastics are used in aerospace applications due to their high performance characteristics. They can endure high temperatures without changing shape and are resistant to chemicals, weather, and flames.
Complex geometries – Plastic injection molding is exact and customizable; it can be used to create a wide variety aircraft parts and components with unique shapes and fine features.
Tight tolerances – Plastics can be molded, machined, and finished to the extremely tight tolerances required by the aerospace and defense industries.
Repeatability – Using injection molding, we can produce a large number of parts, all with exactly identical features.

PEEK and Torlon aerospace components
PEEK (Polyetheretherketone) and Torlon (PAI) are the two most commonly used ultra engineering plastics in the aerospace industry.
- PEEK is a thermoplastic polymer that often is formed into valve seats and pump gears because of its low flammability, creep resistance, and ability to endure high water pressure and temperatures exceeding 400°F.
- Torlon is often a replacement for metal due to its excellent creep resistance, low thermal expansion, and because it is one of the highest performing melt processable thermoplastics available. Plus, it can withstand temperatures up to 500°F.
Thermoplastic in aircraft
Machined and Molded plastics are commonly used to manufacture a wide variety of parts and components, including the following:
- Plane seating
- Cabin lighting
- Propulsion system parts
- Landing gear
- Doors
- Pipes
- Cable ducts
- Bezels
- Turbine blades
- Lenses
- Panels
- Turbine housings
- Chassis components
- Enclosure and containers
- And more!