Do you work directly with defense prime contractors?

Yes. rp+m works directly with Tier 1 defense and aerospace prime contractors, including Boeing, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin, as well as Tier 2 suppliers executing work on their behalf. We maintain active qualified processor status with defense prime contractors and support their audit and documentation requirements directly.

Are you on qualified processor lists?

Yes. rp+m is on the qualified processor lists of major defense prime contractors for fused deposition modeling. Qualification is maintained through regular audits and ongoing performance review. If you need to confirm whether RP+M is on a specific processor list, please contact us directly.

Can you support source inspection requirements?

Yes. For programs requiring source inspection, we coordinate with customer representatives or their designated third parties and ensure all documentation, process records, and parts are complete and in order before any inspection takes place.

Can you help us design for manufacturability?

Yes. Before we quote a job, our team reviews your drawings and specifications to flag tolerancing concerns, material behavior questions, and areas where a combination of FDM and machining may better meet a callout. We've helped engineering teams resolve these issues before they required a drawing change; which, in defense programs, can save months of approval cycles.

Do you support design or engineering services?

Yes, in the sense that matters most to your program. While RP+M doesn't originate engineering designs, we provide manufacturability feedback during the pre-quote process and work collaboratively with engineering teams to identify potential issues before production begins. Our role is manufacturing partner, not design firm.

What is your geographic location and does it affect working with our program?

rp+m is located in Avon Lake, Ohio. As a U.S.-based supplier, our location supports the standard sourcing requirements of defense and aerospace customers.

Are you able to work with both large and small defense programs?

Yes. rp+m supports defense programs across all scales. We work directly with Tier 1 aerospace and defense prime contractors as well as sub-tier suppliers, adapting our manufacturing volume, quality documentation, and process controls to align with specific program requirements.

Industries
Additive Manufacturing for the Industries Where Failure Is Not an Option

Defense and aerospace programs operate under a different set of rules than most manufacturing environments. Specifications are binding. Documentation is mandatory. Drawing changes trigger approval chains that can take months. Suppliers are evaluated not just on what they deliver, but on how they operate.

rp+m thrives in this environment. Our work is concentrated almost entirely in defense and aerospace, industries that represented over 96% of our manufacturing volume in 2025. Our processes, quality infrastructure, and technical approach reflect the requirements of these industries specifically.

We are not a general additive manufacturing provider that also serves defense. Defense and aerospace is what we do.

Defense Manufacturing: Understanding the Requirements Behind the Drawing

Defense manufacturing is not complicated because the parts are complicated. It is complicated because of everything that surrounds the parts:

The specifications they must meet
The documentation that must accompany them
The audit trails that must be maintained
The contractual obligations that govern every step of the process

Most additive manufacturing suppliers underestimate this. They see a drawing, price a part, and discover the full scope of the requirements only after they have committed to the job.

rp+m does not operate that way. We understand both the technical and procurement challenges posed for the defense industry to align our solutions with their needs.

Contractual Compliance and Documentation

Defense purchase orders are rarely simple transactional documents; we've seen orders worth a few hundred dollars arrive with dozens of pages of clauses and requirements attached, including DFARS flow-downs, DPAS priority ratings, labeling and marking requirements, and shipping and receiving procedures specific to each customer's systems.

Qualified Processor Requirements

Many defense programs restrict sourcing to suppliers on an approved qualified processor list. Getting and staying on that list requires audits, process validation, and sustained performance. rp+m maintains active qualified processor status with major defense prime contractors, including Boeing, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin, and supports audit requirements as a routine part of how we operate.

Source Inspection

Some defense programs require that parts be inspected by a customer representative or their designated third party before they can be shipped. rp+m treats source inspection readiness as a baseline expectation, not an exception. When a source inspector arrives, our documentation, parts, and process records are complete and in order.

Timeline Pressure and Priority Management

Defense programs operate on fixed schedules with real consequences for delay. rp+m operates under the Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS), managing job scheduling across concurrent orders to ensure contractual priority requirements are met.

Drawing Authority

Technical Data Package Authority: The technical data package is the final word in defense manufacturing. Every dimension, tolerance, specification callout, and note carries contractual weight. Our team reviews the complete technical data package in detail before we quote, to identify any areas of concern and address them before they become a problem at receiving inspection.

The rp+m Approach to Defense Manufacturing

We have spent years learning how to operate effectively within the defense supply chain, not just how to manufacture parts, but how to manage the full scope of what a defense purchase order actually requires. Our customers come back to us because the parts are right, the paperwork is right, and nothing surprises them at inspection.

Many of our defense relationships have grown organically, from a single program to multiple programs within the same organization, driven by engineering teams and supply chain managers who experienced firsthand what it means to work with a supplier that understands the environment.

Aerospace: Where Material Performance and Process Reliability Intersect

Aerospace applications demand manufacturing partners who understand both how to make a part and why the material and process requirements exist. These parts have strict baseline requirements, including:

Flammability ratings
Structural performance
Dimensional repeatability
Full traceability from raw material to finished parts

rp+m's primary production material, ULTEM™ 9085, meets FAA flammability requirements and is supported by the broadest published data set of any thermoplastic material used in defense and aerospace additive manufacturing. Our process controls are designed to deliver the dimensional consistency and repeatability that aerospace applications require.

Material Requirements and Qualification

Aerospace applications often specify materials by designation, not just by general material class. ULTEM™ 9085 is the material of record for the majority of thermoplastic additive manufacturing work in this space, and rp+m's experience with it extends to the specification level, including the testing and data development that supports its use in qualified applications.

Tolerances and Dimensional Consistency

Aerospace parts must fit within assemblies where adjacent components have their own tolerances and their own suppliers. rp+m's pre-quote engineering review is specifically designed to identify tolerance callouts that may require secondary machining to achieve, and to communicate that clearly before the job begins.

Traceability

Aerospace supply chains require full traceability from the material lot used to manufacture a part through to the shipment record. RP+M's documentation process is structured to support this requirement on every order, in alignment with AS9100 quality management requirements and AS9102 first article inspection reporting.

Approvals and Change Management

Like defense programs, aerospace programs carry long approval cycles for any change to a released drawing or qualified process. Early engagement with rp+m during the design and development phase helps engineering teams avoid changes that would otherwise require re-approval, protecting program schedules and supply chain continuity.

The rp+m Approach to Aerospace Manufacturing

Our work in aerospace is grounded in the same principles as our defense work: understand the specification, execute to the drawing, document everything, and surface concerns early. The material knowledge, process controls, and quality infrastructure we have built for defense production translate directly to aerospace requirements.

computers with American flag in background

Where rp+m Fits in Your Supply Chain

rp+m is a manufacturing partner, not a design firm, systems integrator, or prototype shop. We manufacture thermoplastic additive parts to customer-supplied drawings and specifications, with the post-processing, documentation, and quality infrastructure to support production-level defense and aerospace work.

We work directly with Tier 1 defense and aerospace OEMs and their supply chains, engaging with engineering teams during development and transitioning to sustained production as programs mature. In some cases, we also work with Tier 2 suppliers executing work on behalf of a prime contractor, where our parts feed into a larger assembly or deliverable.

Our role is to be a dependable additive manufacturing partner for your program:

One that understands the requirements and meets the specifications

rp+m Works With:

Program engineers during development and design validation
Supply chain and procurement teams for production sourcing
Additive manufacturing integration teams at Tier 1 OEMs evaluating suppliers for new programs
Tier 2 suppliers executing prime contractor requirements

Frequently Asked Questions

rp+m Adds Machine Capacity to Support Growing Demand for Production Printing

Sep. 14, 2020

Manufacturing features rp+m President, Tracy Albers

Dec. 02, 2019

rp+m and partners awarded a prestigous Joint Defense Manufacturing Technology Achievement Award

Working on a Defense or Aerospace Program?

If you are evaluating additive manufacturing suppliers for a defense or aerospace application, or if you have a program requirement and want to confirm whether rp+m is on the right lists and has the right capabilities, reach out. We review every inquiry to confirm fit before quoting.

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