The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has started to use two additive manufacturing machines, also known as 3D printing machines, to manufacture components for future fusion machines.
At its recently opened Central Support Facility (CSF), UKAEA said it has commissioned an electron beam additive manufacturing machine that will be used to incorporate tungsten into components, alongside a selective laser manufacturing machine.
The UKAEA is the government’s research organisation for the development of fusion energy.
The Authority said that while fusion will play a key role in reducing carbon emissions, the components within future fusion power plants will have to operate under complex and challenging conditions, including extreme temperatures, high neutron loads, and strong magnetic fields.
As a result, they require complex combinations of materials and precision engineering.
The organisation said additive manufacturing is well suited to producing materials with intricate design and in low volumes, making it ideal for the fusion machines which currently require highly bespoke and individual components.
The UKAEA claims that 3D printing will play an important role in the future of fusion by reducing the costs of this precision manufacturing and has commissioned the machines to demonstrate two complementary 3D printing methods to produce fusion components.
The eMELT Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion (E-PBF) additive machine, made by Freemelt, will use electron beam technology to join tungsten in powder-form into solid components with almost 100 per cent density.
The eMELT machine will be used to layer tungsten onto other materials such as copper chrome zirconium, stainless steel and Eurofer 97, which is a special type of steel developed for use in fusion machines.
The second machine is the SLM280, Selective Laser Manufacturing, which will be used to experiment with how to produce components with the complex geometries and material combinations that will be essential for successful fusion plants.
The SLM280 is manufactured by Nikon SLM, provided by Kingsbury Machine Tools, and supported by Additure.
Both 3D printing technologies will support the manufacture of plasma-facing components that will be exposed to extreme temperatures during their operational lifecycle, with the UKAEA adding that they will also reduce the reliance on traditional techniques such as welding, reducing the number of manufacturing operations and joining processes.
“Future fusion power plants will require thousands – or even millions – of components with complex geometries that can withstand the extreme conditions of a fusion environment,” said Roy Marshall, head of operations for fabrication, installation and maintenance, at UKAEA. “Many companies will have either an electron beam machine or selective laser manufacturing technology but having both capabilities under one roof – and able to produce components at scale – is a first for the fusion industry.”
