Aether, an American artificial-intelligence company that develops functional proteins and advanced materials, has announced RapidPrint, a new polymer filament product line designed to accelerate 3D printing with high-performance engineering materials. Depending on printer and part configuration, RapidPrint enables up to five-times faster print speeds while maintaining the mechanical properties required for aerospace, defense, and industrial applications. Aether will present live demonstrations of RapidPrint at Formnext 2025 in Frankfurt, Germany, from November 18 to 21, showing its performance and previewing parts from the forthcoming Ultra Series of high-strength polymer filaments.
RapidPrint’s first commercial material, RapidPrint PA6 CF10 ABX, is a modified polyamide 6 reinforced with ten percent carbon fiber. It is formulated for high melt flow, consistent bonding, and a smooth surface finish. The company specifies that the material operates across print speeds from 50 to 250 millimeters per second, depending on the printer and part geometry. Live demonstrations at Formnext will use the AON3D Hylo, a high-temperature polymer printer, to show how RapidPrint’s optimized melt behavior enables faster deposition and higher machine utilization without sacrificing strength.
Accelerating polymer production without compromising strength is particularly valuable for defense and drone manufacturing, where component designs evolve frequently and production volumes are limited. Additive manufacturing supports these operations through on-demand part replacement, rapid iteration, and field repair. According to the company, RapidPrint speed gains can translate directly into higher production rates, shorter development cycles, and greater supply-chain resilience by enabling strong end-use components to be fabricated locally in a matter of hours.
Aether’s materials program is built on its Protein Function Model, an AI platform created to discover proteins with targeted industrial and biomedical properties. The system is trained on a proprietary dataset generated through high-throughput screening and assay development. By applying the same predictive framework to polymer chemistry, the company uses molecular-modeling algorithms to optimize parameters such as viscosity, fiber dispersion, and thermal response. This data-driven process enables faster material qualification compared with traditional experimental methods and forms the basis for its transition from biotechnology to high-performance materials.
Formnext Demonstration and Ultra Series Preview
At Hall 11.1, Booth E68, the firm will demonstrate RapidPrint filament operating at sustained high speeds on the AON3D Hylo, highlighting throughput advantages for industrial users. It will also showcase pilot parts printed using the Ultra Series, a line of high-strength polymer filaments with higher carbon-fiber loadings that deliver a new class of strength and thermal performance. Company representatives will be available throughout the four-day exhibition at Messe Frankfurt for technical discussions and scheduled meetings via [email protected].
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Featured image shows Technical Data Sheet. Image via Aether.
