Additive manufacturing prepares for a new challenge: cooling artificial intelligence chips. From August 26 to 28 in Shenzhen, Formnext Asia 2026 will focus on how 3D printing can create liquid cooling components. With increasingly dense servers, air is no longer enough; it's time to get wet.
Cold plates and complex channels: 3D printing takes control 🔥
Current systems use metal cold plates on chips, through which coolant circulates. Additive manufacturing allows designing internal channels impossible to mill, maximizing contact surface area and thermal dissipation. Machines, materials, and software will align at the fair to showcase parts that keep the most electricity-hungry processors cool.
Air conditioning cried, but the 3D printer doesn't sweat 💧
While traditional fans writhe in helplessness before a chip that burns like an iron, 3D printing comes to the rescue with its cold plates and twisted pipes. Because, let's be honest, if your AI server already consumes more than a hairdryer, the least you can do is bathe it with liquid affection. Just make sure the plumber doesn't get hurt.