Conflux and Donkervoort Bring 3D Printing to Water Charge Air Coolers

Dutch car manufacturer Donkervoort is perhaps best known for its classically styled minimalist roadsters. A few years ago, the firm moved to carbon fiber, kitted-out much more aggressively, styled higher performance cars. Now a newer model, the P24 RS, will be released, and it is using Conflux parts. Conflux designed and 3D printed the two air coolers on board.

The water charge air cooler (WCAC) is made of aluminum and weighs 1.4 kilos; significantly lighter than the conventionally manufactured unit, which weighed 16 kilos. WCACs are heat exchangers that use water to take the hot air from the turbos and cool it before passing it on to the inlet (intake) and then on to the engine. The cooler air increases the engine’s output while also improving combustion. Overall, a well-designed WCAC can improve engine performance.

There are two 3D printed WCACs on board the P24 RS. The 3D printed system is lighter and more compact; in this case, it means that the units can be moved inside of the engine bay. That reduces the length of the intake manifold by 66%. The two companies say that this gives the car a “quicker response, greater efficiency, and optimised weight distribution,” as well as providing a “sharper throttle response.” Additionally, of course every kilo of weight saved will have a lot of positive effects on power, speed, acceleration, mileage, and much more besides. In this case, the cooling unit has been optimized for this particular car, which will help the consistency of the delivered air. The cylindrical units are part of a family of customizable products that Conflux offers in which “each component is 3D-printed with tailored fin geometry, density, and size, grounded in engineering-first principles.”

Conflux Founder Michael Fuller said,

“Donkervoort approached us with clear cost and performance targets. Their clarity and drive made this one of our most exciting collaborations. Within our configurable product line, we could fine-tune everything—from diameter and fin density to overall length—for the most efficient design possible.”

The Australia-made conflux heat exchangers are married to Van der Lee Turbo Systems, Turbochargers. These turbo systems are milled from billet, not cast, and use ball bearings to keep the shaft spinning. Van der Lee is also a Dutch firm, and they supply McLaren Cars, Formula 1, Le Mans cars, and Koeningsegg, and also do custom or low volume work for high-end applications.

Donkervoort has recently relied on adapting Audi engines for its cars and previously used Cosworth, but now reportedly will be using its own engines. This would be a big, and very expensive, step for the firm. Perhaps it will have again turned to Cosworth, or a company like Ricardo, to help it? Or they might have worked with a constellation of companies such as IAC (powertrain development), Xtrac, or Judd. Maybe they even doubled down on 3D printing and got some components from Pankl?

With a recent expansion to the UK, Conflux seems to be on a roll. Thanks to a customizable product line and production setup, the firm will be able to service clients faster, while also producing parts to certain specifications. Conflux is really democratizing 3D printed heat exchange for automobiles here, and I can’t wait to see how far this goes. Just like in the bicycle world, we see the smaller, more nimble players innovate and go to market faster than the larger firms. This solidifies my opinion that if you’re in additive and automotive, you should focus on smaller companies to bring products to market and really get stuff out the door. The guys at AMG, BMW, and Porsche will be sending this news around today, and they’ll see it and come to you. For a small firm like Donkervoort, additive can help differentiate their vehicles, improve performance, and stay ahead of more well-capitalized players. Donkervoort has perhaps 50 staff, and some of its car models have production runs of just 70 vehicles.

This is tiny, but that market of small car builders, from high-end upgrade firms like Singer and tuning firms like RUF to guadifying firms like Brabus, is a considerable one. Also, it’s a bit of a “money is no object” market. This kind of thing could also find purchase at places like Porsche Sonderwunsch or Porsche Exclusive Manufactur. Again, the volume is not great, but it’s fantastically profitable. Imagine just offering a drop-in heat exchange upgrade that makes the car more responsive, for example, or an upgrade kit that uses additive to retroactively fix a few issues with some PDK gearboxes. There’s a huge amount of potential there. Beyond this, the wider market looms.

Will Conflux cross the chasm to everyday cars? Perhaps, but if I were them I wouldn’t even try. The hypercar segment itself is said to be worth $19 billion. The coming quarters are set to be brutal for car manufacturers, but a happy few will probably be insulated against the vagaries of the business cycle. The average Lamborghini owner reportedly has 12 cars. Wouldn’t you rather supply them than trying to sell an expensive product to transmission and engine companies who are in danger of being wiped out, or car makers caught in tariff crossfire? Previously, the most desirable cars had series of 500 and tapped out at prices of $1 million. Now however, one-off Bugattis are being sold for $16 million, so this lower volume, higher price play will surely benefit additive solutions. I love watching Conflux’s progress and hope they stick to small, beautiful companies like Donkervoort.