Rewriting the rules of scalable manufacturing

A breakthrough in hybrid manufacturing showcases how Additive Manufacturing and casting can work in tandem to scale intricate, high-performance components. Their braided heat exchanger project proves that complexity, cost-efficiency, and sustainability can coexist — redefining traditional processes and unlocking new possibilities for industries like aerospace, energy, and automotive.

- BY: Laurence Coles and Manolis Papastavrou, Founders, Metamorphic AM

When contemplating advanced manufacturing, disruptive technologies often find themselves miscast — positioned as replacements rather than reinforcements. Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a case in point. While it has reshaped research and development and accelerated design thinking, its greatest impact is not in replacing traditional processes, but in transforming what those processes are capable of achieving.

This philosophy is at the heart of a collaboration between design consultancy Metamorphic AM and casting specialist Sylatech, whose work on a high-performance static mixer exemplifies the pragmatic potential of hybrid manufacturing. The project, which fused AM-driven computational design with production-grade investment casting, successfully scaled an intricately engineered part from tens to thousands per day — all without compromising performance, cost-efficiency, or sustainability.

More than just a clever solution, this collaboration presents a vision of production that treats AM not as an endpoint, but as a catalyst — an enabler that unlocks the full potential of conventional manufacturing techniques and helps them evolve into something far more powerful.

From design intent to castable geometry

The part at the centre of this story is a braided static mixer, developed to serve as a high-efficiency heat exchanger. Its role is to mix viscous, and often immiscible, fluids by creating continuous divisions and re-combinations within a tightly braided flow path. To achieve this, Metamorphic employed advanced computational design techniques, generating a geometry optimised for fluid mixing, but also significantly improved surface area for thermal transfer.