Heat transfer specialistConflux技术has announced the commercial launch of its first pre-designed 3D printed product.
Built on the back of Conflux’s prior heat exchanger R&D, itsWater Charge Air Cooleror ‘WCAC,’ is designed to cool the air that enters the turbos used to boost some cars’ engines. Utilizing 3D printing, it’s said that the firm is able to not just optimize the device’s weight and performance, but to scale its dimensions in a way that allows it to slot into the existing designs of high-end automotive manufacturers.
“The Conflux WCAC embodies how we deliver what motorsport and elite auto makers ask for – a definitive performance advantage,” explains Dan Woodford, Conflux’s new Chief Product Officer. “A product is rapidly configured to our customer’s prioritization of performance, size, and packaging requirements. AM lets us supply the WCAC with low lead times and competitive pricing.”
Conflux的“生产”转变
A specialist in the use of 3D printing for thermal and fluid management applications,Conflux was founded in 2017by engineer Michael Fuller. Using the knowledge accrued during his time working in F1, the World Rally Championship and Le Mans motor racing, Fuller and his firm are now seeking to disrupt a heat exchanger market it values at $16.6 billion.
目前，Conflux通过其粉末床融合系统套件提供了一系列应用程序开发，设计，原型制作和低容量生产服务。该公司的3D打印功能也得到其计算传热模拟的支持，该模拟可以创建优化的热交换器，并具有汽车，航空航天和国防应用等。
Since gaining aninitial investment from AM Ventures五年前，Conflux设法筹集了850万美元（AUD），以资助其研发野心。在最近的一项倡议中，该公司拥有开始使用“同步加速器”粒子加速器to inspect its parts at a sub-macroscopic level, while in another, it has teamed up with迪金大学发展小说3D打印铝.
Just last month, Conflux also unveiled a与GKN航空航天的合作关系这将使后者的技术用于欧洲客户的3D打印热交换器。但是，随着其WCAC的推出，该公司宣布了从传统服务驱动的模型进行重大转变，并转向了产品驱动的模型，这是它认为是“正在进行的生产策略”中的第一步。
伍德福德补充说：“我对Conflux Technology AM热交换器的产品路线图感到非常兴奋。”“团队已取得了很大的进步，开发了内部工具，这些工具可以提供很高的性能而不会损害质量。我真的为Conflux的每个人都为通过WCAC产品系列推出了我们的下一阶段的业务而感到自豪。”
“Conflux has aggregated our expertise in first principles calculations, core engineering design and additive manufacturing into a set of tools that can rapidly inform a solution.”
A turbocharger-cooling device debut
In effect, a charge air-cooler is a device often deployed between the compressor and engine inlet valve of a performance vehicle, which uses a liquid to cool the hot air being ejected by its turbocharger. Often cited as a more efficient alternative to traditional air-to-air intercoolers, such devices can also be used in pursuit of performance, as a means of pumping higher density air into the engine bay.
利用其在热交换器开发方面的悠久专业知识，Conflux现在旨在通过开发自己的空气冷却设备优于现有产品，以优化此过程。与当前的Microtube WCAC相比，据说该公司的核心量较小15％，同时，在空气侧和冷却液压力下降时，该公司的核心量分别降低了24％和82％。
Additionally, leveraging 3D printing, Conflux says it’s able to produce its WCAC in such a way that it can be configured for the custom boundary conditions, performance and packaging requirements of users’ vehicles. With this in mind, the company is marketing the device towards motorsport and high-end automotive clients, the likes of which have been quick to complement it at a recent trade show.
“客户正在评论零件的细节和表面饰面，” Conflux业务发展主管Ben Batagol说。“他们不敢相信WCAC中的细节水平以及如何设计。它巩固了他们的理解，即Conflux通过我们展示的内容比我们的竞争对手走了很长一段路。”
“Customers responded with amazement and disbelief as they held a part designed by our engineers embedding complex AM geometries into a production-ready WCAC.”
推进热交换器3D打印
Conflux毫无疑问地将自己放在热交换器设计的最前沿，但它远非唯一在该区域使用3D打印的公司。去年年底，3D Metalforgealso revealed that it had managed to produce andship 3D printed heat exchanger parts to Shell. Installed at Shell’s site on Jurong Island, the durability-enhanced components have essentially helped minimize equipment downtime there.
At theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, meanwhile, researchers have used 3D printing toboost heat exchanger performance by up to 2000%. To make this possible, the team has developed their own purpose-built design software with topology optimization functionality. The program effectively optimizes existing heat exchanger designs to maximize heat transfer while minimizing part weight.
In the past, the likes ofGE Researchhave also worked with colleagues at the马里兰大学和Oak Ridge National Laboratory到3D打印heat exchanger that’s resistant to temperatures of up to 900°C. The device features a unique grape-like geometry, which provides it with the extreme heat and pressure resistance needed to outperform state-of-the-art devices by more than 200°C.
To stay up to date with the latest 3D printing news, don’t forget to subscribe to the3D打印行业newsletter或跟随我们Twitter或喜欢我们的页面Facebook.
For a deeper dive into additive manufacturing, you can now subscribe to ourYoutubechannel, featuring discussion, debriefs, and shots of 3D printing in-action.
Are you looking for a job in the additive manufacturing industry? Visit3D Printing Jobsfor a selection of roles in the industry.
Featured image shows a diagram depicting how Conflux’s new Water Charge Air Cooler works. Image via Conflux Technology.
