Conformal Cooling: The Most Important Application for 3D Printing

Conformal cooling is not only a better way to cool injection molds for plastics but it might allow hypersonic air travel.
Much of engineering is about putting heat in and taking heat out. Anyone who has studied heat engines knows that efficiency is determined by the Delta T between combustion temperatures and ambient, and this has driven designers to build hotter and hotter engines in everything from automobiles to jet aircraft.
This has driven the development of heat resistant materials such as nickel-based superalloys, but additive manufacturing is offering another way to achieve high heat transfer rates without very expensive materials: conformal cooling. This build strategy allows everything from rocket engine nozzles to plastic injection molds to be optimized for heat transfer rates with high efficiency at low cost and promises to improve performance and lower unit costs in everything from space satellites to bottle caps.
ABOUT END OF THE LINE:
Manufacturing veteran James Anderton expresses his compelling and unique opinions about the state of the manufacturing sector. He shares his thoughts and insights to help engineering and manufacturing professionals navigate through the challenges of world events, the blending old with new technologies, evolving processes, gaps in skilled labour, in an effort to help maximize productivity of their daily operations.
James is a former editor of trade publications in the automotive, metalworking and plastics industries with contributions to a wide range of print and on-line publications. He also brings prior industry experience in quality and manufacturing for a Tier One automotive supplier.
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