Manufacturer uses engineered plastic cooling towers to support heat rejection for laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing.
Metal additive manufacturing is moving deeper into production, and the demands on the process are growing with it. According to Wohlers Report 2026, global additive manufacturing revenues reached $24.2 billion in 2025, up 10.9% year over year. While that growth is slower than the 20%+ rates seen before the pandemic, the market continues to mature as manufacturers place more emphasis on installed capacity, production applications and repeatable process performance.
That production shift is visible at GE Aerospace’s Additive Technology Center in West Chester, Ohio, where laser powder bed fusion is used to support a mix of development and production-related work involving advanced aircraft engine components.
GE Aerospace has described the site as an important additive manufacturing hub with more than 90 additive machines and work involving parts such as fuel nozzles and gearboxes.
Heat Rejection Becomes Part of the Process
For laser powder bed fusion, the move toward production brings a practical challenge: the heat created by the process has to be managed consistently.
The thermal demands of laser-based metal printing do not end inside the build chamber. They extend into the process cooling systems that help keep equipment operating within required conditions. For manufacturers running high-value additive equipment, cooling is not simply a utility requirement. If the cooling system cannot maintain stable performance, it can create the potential for operating interruptions, maintenance issues or lost production time.
At the GE Aerospace facility, laser powder bed fusion systems are used for components that require complex geometries, precise features and reduced weight. While the laser itself is not hot, the heat produced when concentrated laser energy is absorbed by the metal powder can be significant. That energy creates the melt pool needed to fuse each layer, but it also adds thermal demand to the equipment and supporting systems around the process.
As machine counts rise and utilization increases, the cooling infrastructure becomes a more important part of production reliability.
“The aviation company was working on a state-of-the-art approach to manufacture metal aircraft parts utilizing laser 3D printers,” says Steve Coppock, consulting engineer at Armour & Associates, an Ohio-based firm that designs, installs and commissions HVAC and process cooling systems. “The engineering firm brought us in to help with the cooling system that was required to chill the water used in the processing of these parts.”
Cooling as a Production Constraint
In metal AM, thermal control is often discussed inside the build chamber, but the supporting equipment outside the machine is also critical. In this application, the laser powder bed fusion operation required chilled process water, making reliable heat rejection part of the production support system.
That becomes especially important in aerospace additive manufacturing, where long build cycles and qualification requirements place a premium on stable operating conditions.
“The facility was looking for a cooling tower that would provide some longevity and would not require a lot of maintenance or repairs,” Coppock says. “We had been having a lot of success with cooling towers made out of engineered plastic and recommended them for this application.”
The issue was not simply cooling capacity. Many cooling towers can be sized to meet a thermal load. The larger concern was long-term reliability. Because HDPE does not corrode, engineered plastic towers are often selected for applications where operators want to avoid shell deterioration associated with metal cooling tower designs.
Why HDPE Cooling Towers Fit the Application
For the GE Aerospace application, the engineering team selected engineered plastic cooling towers made with high-density polyethylene, or HDPE. The first tower was installed in late 2022. After the system performed successfully, a second tower was added more recently as the facility expanded capacity.
In this case, the engineering team selected Delta Cooling Towers’ Paragon induced draft model. The Paragon design uses a seamless, molded shell that eliminates panel joints, seams, fasteners and caulking that can become maintenance points over time. The line also includes a direct-drive fan system, VFD-rated motors and a 20-year shell warranty.
For additive manufacturing facilities, the durability argument is straightforward. If the AM operation depends on stable process cooling, the cooling tower needs to maintain performance with as little interruption as possible. A corrosion-resistant shell does not eliminate all maintenance, but it can reduce one of the major sources of deterioration and repair in outdoor heat-rejection equipment.
Reducing Maintenance Around High-Value Machines
A typical AM facility is already managing a long list of process variables: powder handling, laser performance, build parameters, inert gas management, part removal, heat treatment, inspection and qualification. Cooling infrastructure should not add unnecessary uncertainty.
Cooling tower performance is not limited to heat rejection and corrosion resistance. For industrial AM facilities, noise and energy use can also influence equipment selection.
At the GE Aerospace site, the towers were located between two buildings, which raised concerns about potential sound reflection through the industrial park. To reduce that risk, the project team elevated the towers closer to the roofline. In operation, however, the units proved quieter than expected.
“The towers look great sitting up on those platforms, but in hindsight, we may not have even needed to raise them up above ground level because they run whisper quiet,” Coppock says. “When you’re standing there, literally, the only thing you hear is the water running through.”
The towers also included variable frequency drives, which allow fan speed to adjust based on demand rather than running at full speed whenever the system is operating. For AM facilities where heat loads vary by production schedule, weather, machine utilization or process demand, the ability to modulate fan speed can help reduce unnecessary energy use.
As metal additive manufacturing continues to mature, the industry’s attention will remain focused on machines, materials, qualification, automation and part design. But production additive manufacturing also depends on less visible infrastructure.
The GE Aerospace application shows how process cooling fits into that production-readiness picture. Laser powder bed fusion systems may be the centerpiece of the facility, but their ability to run consistently depends in part on the systems that support them.
Reliable cooling is not a background detail. It is part of keeping metal AM production moving.