3D Printing

The nuclear industry is raising the quality-bar in terms of additive manufacturing again, this time by installing a 3D printed steel component in a Swedish nuclear power plant. The component in question is an upper tie plate grid, which has been installed on top of an ATRIUM 11 fuel assembly at the Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant, which is operated by Vattenfall, in Sweden. It has been designed by Framatome, who are designers of nuclear equipment. Let’s have a look at the printed component, and then take a look at this fuel assembly in some more detail. Here’s the printed upper tie plate grid. Printed steel nuclear fuel assembly component (Image credit: Framatome) It sits on top of the ATRIUM 11 fuel assembly, which is the most advanced boiling water reactor (BWR) fuel design on the market today. It has been operating in plants worldwide since 2012 as lead fuel assemblies…    read more 

A new method for 3D printing MEMS sensors has been developed by researchers at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology. The research has been published in the Nature Microsystems & Nanoengineering journal. The method aims to reduce costs of MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) for lower production volumes, and the research paper highlights how the researchers have been focusing on one type of sensor in particular; accelerometers. Costly While MEMS are relatively cost-effective when produced at industrial scales for common items such as smartphones, the development and manufacturing costs associated with producing MEMS tend to be a lot higher when manufacturing for smaller production runs. Many high tech products such as robots and even certain aircraft are not built in sufficient numbers to benefit from the cost savings associated with full-scale mass production. Scanning Electron Microscope image of the printed sensor (Image credit: KTH Royal Institute of Technology) Design engineers can often…    read more 

We have seen a few examples of additive manufacturing being used to manufacture prosthetic devices for smaller animals such as cats and dogs, but we seldom see it used on larger animals. But this week we have seen AM used to save a horse from a grim end. Read on to know more. Clydesdale Freda is a 15 year old Clydesdale horse living at the Larkrigg Riding School, Kendal, England. Freda had developed a canker in her hoof, and after the canker had been removed it had been patched up with gauze and duct tape in order to keep it from getting infected. This is apparently a completely normal procedure. Printed hoof cover (Image Credit: Andrew Allshorn) The trouble was, the duct tape kept falling off, and there was a high risk of infection and the canker remnants spreading further. Freda has been in a fair bit of pain as…    read more 

This week aircraft manufacturer Boeing has officially celebrated the opening of its Center of Additive Manufacturing Excellence in Auburn, Washington. The facility employs over 100 people who will be operating the multitudes of printers at the factory who will continue to research, develop and manufacture the lightweight components for Boeing’s aircraft and spacecraft products. And that’s a lot of components, as Boeing currently has over 70,000 3D printed parts in their portfolio. Belated opening ceremony. (Image credit: City of Auburn) While the facility officially opened in 2020, the pandemic cut short any kind of formal opening, and so this week they have finally had the opportunity to rectify that. “It’s been a while since we’ve been doing this, but this is the first time we’ve had the opportunity to celebrate it,” said Susan Champlain, Senior Director of State and Local Government Operations at Boeing. The facility has the capacity for…    read more 

The first 3D printed concrete water chamber has been built and installed in Cheshire, UK. Among other things, the printed water chamber, which is to be installed as part of the local sewage system is designed to reduce the risks associated with working at heights. Read on to know more about this example of “Printfrastructure”, which you can see in the image below. Hugging the tank. (Image credit: Costain/Changemaker3D) The structure which has been installed at the local water authority facility for testing was designed in collaboration with Costain, United Utilities and ChangeMaker3D. The concrete water tank, which will contain wastewater from the sewage system was printed in just four hours, and offered a 25% reduction in carbon, 20% cost saving and 55% reduction in labor versus traditional construction methods. “A 3D printed structure of this kind is ground-breaking within the UK water sector. We work with water and wastewater…    read more