Plate heat exchangers

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We manufacture plate heat exchanger flow plates, heat transfer plates, cooling plates and liquid cold plates for leading suppliers of cooling and heating systems, photolithography systems, linear motors and more.

What is a plate heat exchanger?

A plate heat exchanger is a device used to transfer heat between two fluids. Compact in size compared to conventional shell and tube heat exchangers, they are made up of multiple flat metal plates machined with channels that enable the fluids to flow.

Whilst CNC machining, stamping and hydroforming can be used to machine metal heat exchanger plates, these processes can compromise plate flatness and introduce stresses and burrs.

Chemical etching heat exchanger plates

Our market-leading chemical etching service removes metal simultaneously, meaning complex flow plates can be etched on both sides with high degrees of accuracy.

Burr-free, stress-free and flat

Chemical etching imparts no mechanical or thermal stress, unlike CNC machining, stamping and laser machining, which can compromise planarity (flatness) and subsequent assembly.

Low barrier to entry & fast supply

Our digital phototooling, which is low-cost and quick to produce, means set-up costs are minimal.

Designers can vary the size and shape of plate channels and incorporate headers, collectors and port features without additional cost or excessive lead-times – we can often supply prototypes in just a few days.

Plate heat exchanger plate metals

The etching process is suitable for almost any metal type or grade.

Although our customers often specify heat exchanger plates from stainless steel, we can also work with lightweight, corrosion-resistant metals such as aerospace grade aluminium or titanium for extreme environment applications, such as aircraft engines and photolithography systems.

Plate heat exchanger sizing

We supply plate heat exchangers up to 1500mm x 610mm in size, and in thicknesses to 2mm.

Brazing and diffusion bonding

We offer brazed heat exchangers and diffusion bonded heat exchangers.

By combining etching with brazing or diffusion bonding, we can ensure complex channels can be incorporated into plate heat exchangers at a fraction of the price of competing technologies.