May 23, 2023
The largest 3D printer of its kind in Russia has been unveiled by Rusatom – Additive Technologies (RusAT) and claims it will “enable printing large parts of nuclear reactors” and reduce costs and manufacturing time.
Parts with a diameter of 2.2 meters can be printed (Image: RusAT)
Developed by RusAT (a subsidiary of Russian nuclear fuel producer TVEL, which is itself a subsidiary of Russian state-owned nuclear company Rosatom) and the Institute of Lasers and Welding of the St. Petersburg Naval Technical University, the machine has a lifting capacity of eight tons and two industrial six-axle Robots and can manufacture products up to 2.2 meters in diameter and 1 meter in height. It works by layering products using lasers and powders in the DMD (Direct Metal Deposition) system and has the flexibility to produce composite products from different metal powders with different properties.
It can be used in a wide variety of industries, but has already been used to “craft a 1 meter high fragment of the baffle plate of the inner workings of a nuclear reactor”. Olga Ospennikova, Director of the Association for the Development of Additive Technologies said: “Additive technologies are one of the drivers that are shaping the shape of a new generation of production… This is a breakthrough technology that opens up the possibility for a wide application of additive technologies in the nuclear industry and, in particular, enables the printing of large quantities – large parts of nuclear reactors.
Ilya Kavelashvili, Director General of RusAT said:The creation of new powerful facilities allows the full adoption of additive technologies in heavy engineering to measure the weight of products printed on 3D printers not in kilograms, but in tons. This saves a large amount of material, increases production productivity and product quality. Rosatom has a large-scale program to introduce additive technologies and … is the starting point for the widespread use of 3D printing in Russian mechanical engineering.”
Gleb Turichin, Director and Chief Designer of the Institute of Laser and Welding Technologies said: “Our joint development is the first such system in which several attachments can work simultaneously without affecting each other through their temperature fields. Our combined experience with Rosatom has proven that additive technologies can be used successfully in heavy engineering.”
Rosatom currently has three additive technology centers in Moscow, Novouralsk and Nizhny Novgorod. The new 3D printer was presented at the Metalworking 2023 conference in Moscow.
Researched and written by World Nuclear News
