Mode 01 · Cycle Time — Conformal Cooling

Cooler molds. Faster cycles.

DMLS-printed inserts with internal water channels engineered to match your mold geometry. Documented −17% to −55% cycle-time reductions — deployed across plastic packaging, medical, automotive, white-goods, and defense production.

Surface-conformal cooling insert — Conforma

We design, simulate, print, and finish a single-piece insert that drops into your existing mold pocket. Lead time 3–5 weeks from your CAD or sample part.

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20–40%
cycle time reduction
vs. traditional drilled cooling
50–62%
better cooling uniformity
across the cavity surface
8–12 wks
typical ROI payback
depends on production volume
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How it works

Channels that
follow the part.

Traditional drilled cooling can only run in straight lines, missing the contour of every cavity. Conformal cooling traces your part geometry — channels run 3–8 mm beneath the surface, close enough to actually remove heat where it builds up.

That's only possible with additive manufacturing — the entire insert is built layer by layer, channels included, in a single piece of maraging steel.

Anatomy

One piece.
No joints, no leaks.

Every Conforma insert is additively built as a single body. The conformal channels are part of the same printed structure as the cavity wall — no welds, no fittings, no thermal interfaces between cooling and surface.

  • Cavity face — mirror-polished
  • Conformal channels — serpentine, ⌀ 3–8 mm
  • Water ports — threaded, in/out
  • Mounting bolts — M6 × 4 corners
  • Ejector pin clearances
INLET OUTLET CAVITY FACE CONFORMAL CHANNELS FIG.02 · EXPLODED VIEW Maraging 1.2709 · LPBF / DMLS
Multi-zone cooling circuit in an injection mold
In context

Drops into
your existing mold.

We design every insert to your existing mold base — mounting pattern, water connection, ejector layout. From your CAD or sample part to a finished, water-tested insert in 3–5 weeks.

No retooling. No mold redesign. No production downtime beyond a single insert swap.

vs. drilled cooling

Why drilled lines
leave performance behind.

Traditional · drilled

Straight lines only

Conventional milled-groove cooling — straight serpentine in mold face FIG.A · Milled groove
  • Can only follow straight bores or flat-face grooves
  • Misses every curved cavity surface — uneven gap
  • Hot spots → warpage, sink marks, longer cycles
  • Limited to ~30–50% of theoretical cooling potential
Conforma · conformal

Follows the cavity

Conforma branching-manifold conformal cooling — Y-split flow distribution FIG.B · Conformal manifold
  • Channels trace the cavity contour at constant 1.5–5 mm depth
  • Equal heat removal across the whole surface
  • Faster, more consistent cycles — measurably less warpage
  • −17% to −55% cycle time in published studies (Renishaw, EOS, Magna)
Process

From your part
to your mold.

01 · DESIGN
80
Engineer the cooling network
Send us your part geometry. We design the conformal channel layout against the cavity contour and thermal load map.
02 · SIMULATE
Validate in Moldflow + CFD
Flow, pressure drop, thermal map and cycle-time prediction — all verified before any steel is printed.
03 · PRINT
DMLS additive manufacturing
Maraging 1.2709 or H13 tool steel, layer-by-layer to ±0.05 mm cavity tolerance.
04 · INSTALL
Finish-machined, water-tested, delivered
Polished, leak-tested, ready to bolt into your existing mold pocket. We can be on-site for first-shot commissioning.
Specifications

Engineering
specifications.

MaterialsMaraging 1.2709 · H13 tool steel · BeCu (on request)
Cavity tolerance±0.05 mm finished, ±0.10 mm overall geometry
Channel diameter3–8 mm, designed per thermal load
Insert envelope30×30×20 mm to 250×250×150 mm
Surface finishCavity face polished to Ra 0.4 µm · backing faces matte as-printed
Cooling capacity50–62% improvement over equivalent drilled-channel insert
Cycle lifeProduction-grade — same as machined hardened tool steel
Typical lead time3–5 weeks from approved design to delivered insert
Work with us

Bring us your mold.

Send the part geometry or a sample. We'll engineer the cooling solution, simulate it, and quote the path to a finished insert.