Xometry Expands Platform for High-Stakes Aerospace and Defense Work

NORTH BETHESDA, Md. – January 08, 2026 – Digital manufacturing marketplace Xometry (NASDAQ: XMTR) has announced a significant expansion of its platform capabilities, introducing new high-performance materials and enhanced manufacturing controls aimed squarely at the complex demands of the aerospace, defense, and medical industries. The updates are designed to solidify the company’s role as a critical partner for engineers and procurement leaders navigating an era of rapid technological advancement and supply chain volatility.

At the core of the announcement is a strategic push to support the most demanding engineering applications. By integrating new materials and offering greater control over production processes directly within its AI-powered Instant Quoting Engine®, Xometry is addressing the industry-wide shift toward using on-demand manufacturing for end-use production parts, moving far beyond its origins in rapid prototyping.

Advanced Materials for Critical Applications

The most notable enhancement is the addition of eight new high-performance polymers for its additive manufacturing services. Introduced in late 2025, these materials for Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) and Stereolithography (SLA) are engineered to withstand extreme conditions, making them ideal for mission-critical components in aerospace, defense, and advanced automotive sectors.

The expanded FDM catalog now features materials like ULTEM 1010 CG, Stratasys Antero 800NA, and PAEK VICTREX AM 200. These thermoplastics are renowned for their high strength-to-weight ratios, chemical resistance, and ability to perform under extreme temperatures, properties essential for aircraft interior components, drones, and specialized medical devices. For instance, materials like ULTEM are already valued in aerospace for their inherent flame-retardant qualities and low smoke emission. The addition of carbon-fiber reinforced grades such as ABS-CF10 and Nylon 6 CF provides engineers with options for creating strong, stiff, and lightweight tooling, jigs, and production parts that can replace heavier metal components.

For SLA, the introduction of Accura SL 5530 addresses a specific need for parts that require high thermal and fluid resistance, opening new possibilities for under-the-hood automotive applications and complex fluid-handling components in medical equipment. This expansion aligns with a clear market trend where additive manufacturing is increasingly relied upon not just for speed, but for its ability to produce complex, consolidated parts from materials that are difficult or impossible to process with traditional methods.

Fortifying the Digital Supply Chain

Beyond materials, Xometry is making strategic moves to address the growing importance of security and compliance in global supply chains. A key development is the platform’s integration of its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Level 2 status, which the company achieved in early 2025. Customers can now select CMMC compliance as a requirement during the quoting process, automatically filtering for manufacturing partners who meet the stringent cybersecurity protocols mandated by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).

This certification is a significant differentiator in the crowded digital manufacturing space. CMMC is designed to protect sensitive government data, known as Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), that flows through the defense industrial base. By providing a CMMC-compliant pathway, Xometry removes a major procurement hurdle for defense contractors and positions itself as a secure gateway to a vetted network of suppliers, a critical factor for winning contracts in the multi-trillion-dollar defense market.

Looking ahead, the company is also preparing to launch a 'Global Sourcing Selection' feature. This upcoming tool will grant buyers granular control over the geographic location of their manufacturing partners, allowing them to designate permitted or restricted regions. This directly addresses pressing geopolitical and logistical challenges, enabling companies to mitigate risks associated with trade tensions, ensure compliance with export controls like ITAR, and strategically diversify their supply base to build greater resilience against disruptions.

Balancing Precision with Pragmatism

Recognizing that not every part requires mission-critical precision, Xometry has also introduced new features that offer customers greater flexibility in balancing cost and performance. For its popular CNC machining service, the company has launched two key updates that cater to opposite ends of the engineering spectrum.

A new 'Preferred Subprocess' feature gives engineers with exacting requirements greater control, allowing them to specify a precise machining approach—such as 5-axis milling or wire EDM—while still receiving the instant pricing and lead times the platform is known for. This empowers specialists who need to dictate the manufacturing method to achieve specific surface finishes, feature accuracies, or internal geometries.

Conversely, Xometry is also offering new 'looser' tolerance options of ±.010” for metals and ±.020” for plastics. Opting for these less stringent tolerances yields an average price reduction of 5% on applicable parts. This pragmatic feature provides a significant cost-saving opportunity for components where absolute precision is not the primary driver, such as enclosures, brackets, or non-critical internal structures. This move effectively democratizes access to CNC machining by allowing customers to pay only for the precision they truly need, making it easier to scale production on a tight budget.

These updates build on a series of enhancements from 2025, including the launch of instant quoting for injection molding in the U.S. and the global expansion of its Teamspace collaboration suite. “The demands of custom manufacturing are evolving faster than ever before,” said Sanjeev Singh Sahni, President at Xometry. “By expanding our material selection and giving buyers more choices, we are continuing to broaden our role as a leader in manufacturing transformation leveraging our core in AI, machine learning and marketplace intelligence.”

By simultaneously catering to the highest echelons of regulated manufacturing and providing pragmatic cost-saving tools, Xometry is positioning its AI-driven marketplace as an indispensable and adaptive tool for the modern industrial economy.