CRP USA to showcase 3D printed Windform parts for drones, aerospace, and motorsports at XPONENTIAL 2026

CRP USA will exhibit additively manufactured functional components from its Windform material family at XPONENTIAL 2026 in Detroit, targeting autonomous and unmanned systems in defense, aerospace, and energy. The company will highlight Windform GT, a glass fiber reinforced polyamide, which has been qualified to MIL-STD-810H for a defense and UAV customer. The booth will also feature a Formula SAE steering wheel and an intake manifold made from Windform XT 2.0 carbon fiber-reinforced material, the latter having logged over 12,000 miles in testing and racing. CRP USA CEO Chris Brewster stated the parts represent production-ready solutions, not prototyping exercises.

This announcement sits within the broader pattern of polymer AM materials migrating from niche motorsport origins into defense and aerospace qualification. Windform’s trajectory — developed in Italy in the mid-1990s for wind tunnel and racetrack use, then applied to space structures like TuPOD and KySat-2, and now certified to a U.S. defense standard — exemplifies the IP lock-in grind pattern where a proprietary material system builds a moat through successive qualification milestones. The MIL-STD-810H certification is particularly significant for the polymer-SLS segment, as it provides a documented pathway for replacing metal or machined polymer parts in UAV and defense applications where environmental resilience is critical. CRP USA is positioning itself as a material-and-service provider rather than a pure hardware vendor, competing with other high-performance polymer AM material suppliers like Stratasys (ULTEM) and Arkema (Kepstan) in the defense and aerospace verticals.

From an expert standpoint, the practical takeaway is that Windform has accumulated enough cross-domain qualification data — motorsport durability, spaceflight heritage, and now defense standards — to reduce the certification risk for new customers. The company’s next execution challenge is converting trade show interest into repeat production orders, particularly in the defense segment where program timelines are long but volumes can be meaningful. For buyers evaluating polymer AM for stressed small-series parts, the MIL-STD-810H reference provides a concrete benchmark to compare against alternative materials and processes.