Heating your living room, cooling the battery pack of an electric car, or maintaining safe temperatures in industrial plants—all rely on a pivotal component of thermal processes: the heat exchanger.
This indispensable device, which transfers thermal energy from one fluid to another without direct contact, is critical for the performance of countless systems. The global market reflects this importance: valued at about USD 18.9 billion in 2024, it is projected to reach nearly USD 33 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 6.6%.
Yet, heat exchangers can be a double-edged sword. Their efficiency, or lack thereof, can determine whether new technologies succeed or fail. That’s where additive manufacturing (AM) comes into play, offering the promise of more efficient, compact, and application-specific heat exchangers.
How exactly? And is this promise enough to push heat exchangers beyond niche use cases into widespread industrial adoption? Or are they already on their way?
The upcoming Additive Talks session aims to address these questions.
Scheduled to be held on Wednesday, October 29th, from 09:30 am to 10:30 am CET (05:30 pm to 06:30 pm Australia time), this session will gather two companies that have made this application a key part of their business:
Dr Toby Maconachie, Additive Manufacturing Leader at PWR. Maconachie runs the additive manufacturing department at PWR. Acknowledged as the world leaders in motorsport cooling, supplying radiators across all motorsport classes, including IndyCar, MotoGP, and Formula 1, PWR specializes in custom cooling solutions for motorsport, aerospace, and defence applications.
Ian Fordyce, Head of R&D at Conflux Technology. Fordyce leads the research & development team at Conflux with the objectives of continual innovation to improve AM heat exchanger (HX) technology and the technology required to manufacture AM HXs.
With an automotive and mechanical engineering background, he completed a PhD in advanced manufacturing in which his research focused on adapting Laser Metal Deposition (LMD) Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology to repair components used in the mineral processing industry.
Conflux Technology is a global leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance heat exchangers using additive manufacturing. Headquartered in Australia with operations in Europe, Conflux works with advanced industries including aerospace, automotive, motorsport, and energy.
Does this look like a conversation you would like to join?
With an automotive and mechanical engineering background, he completed a PhD in advanced manufacturing in which his research focused on adapting Laser Metal Deposition (LMD) Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology to repair components used in the mineral processing industry.
Conflux Technology is a global leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance heat exchangers using additive manufacturing. Headquartered in Australia with operations in Europe, Conflux works with advanced industries including aerospace, automotive, motorsport, and energy.
