A decade ago, Conflux Technology was founded around a simple idea: heat exchangers might be one of the best applications for metal additive manufacturing (AM).
At the time, much of the industry was focused on what 3D printing would someday achieve. Conflux took a different approach, spending years developing a technology it believed could eventually meet the demanding requirements of aerospace, defense, and motorsport. Today, according to CEO Dan Woodford, that long-term bet is beginning to pay off.
“The momentum that people talked about five or ten years ago is now actually there,” Woodford told 3DPrint.com. “The intention is converting into action.”
Dan Woodford, Conflux Technologies CEO.
The Australian company specializes in additively manufactured metal heat exchangers, where better performance can justify higher costs. After nearly a decade of developing the technology and working with customers, Conflux now finds itself operating in a market shifting from experimentation to real deployment.
“The fact that additive is becoming a serious part of the design and creation of next-generation aircraft is now just a fact. It’s moved from being something people thought might be useful to something that is deliberately being included in development programs. The momentum that people talked about five or ten years ago is now actually there. Does that mean we’re suddenly going to see huge numbers of parts flying tomorrow? No. But the intention is converting into action.”
That change is visible across aerospace programs where AM is being considered from the beginning, rather than added later as an experiment.
The idea came from founder Michael Fuller, who spent years working in Formula One before launching Conflux in 2015. He saw heat exchangers as one of the applications where metal 3D printing could offer a clear advantage over traditional manufacturing. The complex internal channels, large surface areas, and demanding cooling requirements involved in thermal management made them a great fit. Rather than trying to apply AM everywhere, the company focused on a single challenge.
“We gave ourselves a head start and chose a really difficult subject matter,” said Woodford. “When we started, the technology was still maturing, but now we’re in a really good position. A lot of companies are using additive in interesting ways, often alongside traditional manufacturing. What we’re seeing now is that entire heat exchangers are increasingly being built through additive manufacturing, and that’s becoming much more common.”
AMSL Aero’s Vertiia aims to be the world’s most efficient long-range, zero-emissions, electric VTOL aircraft. Image courtesy of Conflux.
Today, aerospace and defense have become one of the company’s major growth areas. In fact, Conflux has worked with aerospace customers since 2018 and has participated in programs involving organ
A decade ago, Conflux Technology was founded around a simple idea: heat exchangers might be one of the best applications for metal additive manufacturing (AM).
At the time, much of the industry was focused on what 3D printing would someday achieve. Conflux took a different approach, spending years developing a technology it believed could eventually meet the demanding requirements of aerospace, defense, and motorsport. Today, according to CEO Dan Woodford, that long-term bet is beginning to pay off.
“The momentum that people talked about five or ten years ago is now actually there,” Woodford told 3DPrint.com. “The intention is converting into action.”
Dan Woodford, Conflux Technologies CEO.
The Australian company specializes in additively manufactured metal heat exchangers, where better performance can justify higher costs. After nearly a decade of developing the technology and working with customers, Conflux now finds itself operating in a market shifting from experimentation to real deployment.
“The fact that additive is becoming a serious part of the design and creation of next-generation aircraft is now just a fact. It’s moved from being something people thought might be useful to something that is deliberately being included in development programs. The momentum that people talked about five or ten years ago is now actually there. Does that mean we’re suddenly going to see huge numbers of parts flying tomorrow? No. But the intention is converting into action.”
That change is visible across aerospace programs where AM is being considered from the beginning, rather than added later as an experiment.
The idea came from founder Michael Fuller, who spent years working in Formula One before launching Conflux in 2015. He saw heat exchangers as one of the applications where metal 3D printing could offer a clear advantage over traditional manufacturing. The complex internal channels, large surface areas, and demanding cooling requirements involved in thermal management made them a great fit. Rather than trying to apply AM everywhere, the company focused on a single challenge.
“We gave ourselves a head start and chose a really difficult subject matter,” said Woodford. “When we started, the technology was still maturing, but now we’re in a really good position. A lot of companies are using additive in interesting ways, often alongside traditional manufacturing. What we’re seeing now is that entire heat exchangers are increasingly being built through additive manufacturing, and that’s becoming much more common.”
AMSL Aero’s Vertiia aims to be the world’s most efficient long-range, zero-emissions, electric VTOL aircraft. Image courtesy of Conflux.
Today, aerospace and defense have become one of the company’s major growth areas. In fact, Conflux has worked with aerospace customers since 2018 and has participated in programs involving organ