ORNL and A.J. Tuck Turn 3D Printing Into a Nuclear Manufacturing Tool

Oak Ridge National Laboratory and A.J. Tuck Company have built a hybrid manufacturing process that uses polymer 3D printing as the starting point for leak-free metal containers needed in advanced nuclear reactor production.

The approach starts with a 3D-printed polymer mandrel shaped to the final component geometry. That mandrel goes into an electrolyte bath, where electroforming builds up a dense nickel shell roughly 2 to 3 millimeters thick. The polymer form is then dissolved with acid, leaving a hollow metal canister. That canister gets filled with metal powder, sealed, and processed using hot isostatic pressing, or HIP, to produce a solid final part.

The result is a simpler path to the high-precision metal components that advanced and small modular reactors need, from reactor pressure vessels to valves and turbine systems. Because the starting shape is printed in plastic rather than forged or machined from solid metal, the process cuts material costs, reduces post-processing, and opens up geometries that would be difficult to produce with conventional tooling.

Vanshika Singh, an ORNL research associate staff scientist, said the method successfully produced five leak-free cylindrical HIP cans measuring 6 inches tall and 4 inches in diameter in the first project phase. The team also designed an integrated port that eliminates a separate welding step, which is often where failures occur during HIP processing.

A.J. Tuck brought decades of electroforming expertise to the collaboration. Dara Williams, the company's president, said the partnership demonstrates that the process can produce HIP cans precise enough for real nuclear manufacturing while reducing reliance on supply chains that are concentrated outside the United States.

The second phase is already underway, with the team moving toward more complex geometries such as an impeller or a valve. An invention disclosure and provisional patent have been filed.

The work is part of a cooperative research and development agreement between ORNL and A.J. Tuck, managed by UT-Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy.