Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation adds Desktop Metal’s X-Series Binder Jetting to make SiC parts for nuclear energy sector
April 6, 2022
Desktop Metal, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, reports that Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC), headquartered in Seattle, Washington, USA, a developer of Micro Modular Reactor (MMR) systems for the production of nuclear energy, has added two Binder Jetting (BJT) machines from Desktop Metal’s X-Series line, with two further machines to follow this year.
The company’s recently rebranded X-Series line of BJT machines for metal and ceramic powders — which includes the InnoventX, X25Pro and X160Pro — can additively manufacture advanced materials such as silicon carbide (SiC), a technical ceramic with extreme environmental stability often used in aerospace, armour, plasma shield and high-temperature applications.
USNC transforms highly pure, crystalline, nuclear-grade SiC into the shapes and forms that can safely surround a nuclear fuel particle, enabling USNC’s Fully Ceramic Micro-encapsulated (FCM) fuel innovation. The technology is said to be a key component of USNC’s innovative fuel design for use in a new generation of advanced reactors.
“Binder Jetting is a low-cost, high-yield, reliable process for our complex serial production,” stated Dr Kurt A Terrani, executive vice president of USNC’s Core Division. “The advanced material capability of the X-Series machines is fundamental to our innovative approach to fuel design.”
The X-Series line was designed to scale applications from research and development to mass production with repeatable open parameters and performance across a range of machines. With the small-format InnoventX already installed at the company’s facility in Salt Lake City, Utah, USNC has developed its next-generation nuclear fuel matrix to be scaled up on the larger X25Pro and X160Pro systems.
Ric Fulop, co-founder and CEO of Desktop Metal, commented, “Driving mass adoption of Additive Manufacturing requires scalable systems capable of printing high-performance materials that enable the most innovative applications. We’re proud to support the mission of USNC with flexible binder jetting technology that takes customers all the way to production and helps play a role in solving global-scale problems with Additive Manufacturing solutions.”
