Functional parts, tooling jigs, replacement hardware, and end-use components in engineering-grade materials. Built for real applications — not just prototypes.
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Houston’s industrial base — energy, petrochemical, shipbuilding, heavy manufacturing, and advanced fabrication — demands parts that perform. Not display pieces. Not concept models. Parts that go into real machines, real tools, and real production environments and do their job reliably under load, heat, and chemical exposure.
Export Commodity has built its engineering materials capability specifically to serve this market. We stock engineering-grade thermoplastics that match the performance envelope of traditional manufactured components — and we can deliver them in hours rather than weeks, at quantities that don’t require minimum order economics from injection molders or CNC shops.
Assembly jigs, drill guides, inspection fixtures, and custom alignment tools. Printed in rigid nylon or PC for durability in production environments. Lead time: 1–3 days versus 2–4 weeks for machined tooling.
Brackets, housings, manifolds, ducting, and custom mechanical components in production-grade materials. Many 3D-printed parts replace machined components at significant cost and lead time savings.
Obsolete or hard-to-source components reproduced from your samples or drawings. Ideal for keeping older equipment operational without minimum order constraints from original suppliers.
Non-standard brackets, standoffs, spacers, cable management components, and custom hardware in engineering-grade materials. Faster and cheaper than custom machining for non-critical load paths.
Small batch production runs while injection mold tooling is being cut. Maintain supply chain continuity and collect real-world performance data before committing to production tooling.
Custom test specimens, lab fixtures, and functional test articles for R&D programs. Fast iteration support — print, test, revise, reprint on an accelerated development cycle.
| Material | Tensile Strength | HDT (Heat Deflection) | Chemical Resistance | Best Application |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nylon PA12 (FDM) | 50 MPa | 120°C | Good (hydrocarbons) | Snap fits, gears, brackets |
| Nylon PA12 (SLS) | 48 MPa (isotropic) | 120°C | Good | Complex ducting, enclosures |
| Carbon Fiber Nylon | 105 MPa | 130°C | Good | Structural brackets, UAV frames |
| Polycarbonate (PC) | 72 MPa | 148°C | Moderate | Enclosures, optical parts, tooling |
| ASA | 55 MPa | 100°C | Excellent (UV stable) | Outdoor components, signage |
| PEEK | 100 MPa | 250°C | Excellent (chemicals, solvents) | High-temp structural, chemical exposure |
| ULTEM / PEI | 82 MPa | 170°C | Excellent | Aerospace tooling, flame-retardant apps |
FDM: ±0.2mm standard, ±0.15mm with controlled process. SLA: ±0.1mm. SLS: ±0.3mm (isotropic). For critical interfaces, we recommend printing with stock for post-machining on tight-tolerance features.
As-printed, sanded, bead blasted (SLS), vapor smoothed (ABS), primed, painted. For sealing surfaces and mating interfaces, post-process machining coordination is available through our network partners.
Send us your engineering drawings with GD&T callouts and we’ll identify which features require special attention during printing and which may need post-processing. We print to your drawing, not just to a file.
Heat-set threaded inserts, press-fit hardware, and embedded magnets installed during or after printing. Eliminates weak thread-direct-into-plastic situations on structural assemblies.
Yes. Submit your engineering drawing alongside your 3D file and we’ll review GD&T callouts as part of our standard DFM review. We flag features where 3D printing may not hold your specified tolerance and discuss options: adjust the tolerance, post-machine the feature, or select a different process. We’re not a CNC shop, so very tight tolerances (±0.05mm and under) on critical mating features typically require post-machining, which we can coordinate. For most tooling and fixture applications, our process accuracy is sufficient without secondary operations.
We can provide manufacturer data sheets for all materials we stock, which include published tensile strength, elongation at break, HDT, and other mechanical properties. Full material certifications (COA with batch-specific testing) are available for select materials at additional cost — specify this requirement at the quoting stage. We do not generate our own mechanical test data, but we can source certified material lots from our suppliers for programs requiring documented traceability.
We handle production runs from single units to several thousand parts per month across our full printer fleet. For recurring production needs, we offer blanket order arrangements with scheduled delivery cadences. Very high volume (10,000+ units/month) is better served by injection molding — and we’ll tell you that honestly and refer you to the right process. Our sweet spot is 1–1,000 units where the economics and flexibility of additive manufacturing outperform tooling-based processes.
It depends on the material, print orientation, and load case. FDM parts have anisotropic properties — stronger in the XY plane than in the Z axis (layer direction). For parts where load direction is predictable, we orient the print to maximize strength in the load path. SLS nylon is isotropic and performs closer to machined nylon in all directions. For applications where structural reliability is critical, we recommend engineering analysis of the load case against the printed material properties — our team can walk through this with you before production.
Yes. If you have an obsolete or failed part with no digital file, our team can perform reverse engineering from physical measurement or 3D scanning. We take physical measurements of all critical dimensions and geometry, build a parametric CAD model, and produce a print for fit-check before running a full batch. For complex organic shapes, we partner with 3D scanning services to capture geometry accurately. Reverse engineering services are quoted separately from printing based on part complexity.