New Hybrid Process Turns 3D Printed Mandrel Into Leak-Free Nuclear Components

Oak Ridge National Laboratory and A.J. Tuck Company have developed a hybrid manufacturing process, combining 3D printing, electroforming and hot isostatic pressing, that produces leak-free containers used to build critical components for advanced nuclear reactors, cutting a step out of a supply chain that has long depended on forging capacity concentrated outside the United States.

The partnership, formalized through a cooperative research and development agreement and a subsequent licensing agreement, was marked at Materials and Manufacturing Innovation Days, held August 19–20 at ORNL’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF).

A Faster Way to Build the Container, Not Just the Part

The technology addresses a specific manufacturing step: producing HIP cans, the sealed containers that