UKAEA, the UK’s national fusion energy research organization and an executive, non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, has appointed Kingsbury and Additure to provide additive manufacturing technology for energy research. UKAEA is looking to utilize AM – specifically a Nikon SLM Solutions SLM 280 2.0 Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) machine – to develop tungsten parts layered with other materials such as copper.
This research aims to deliver sustainable fusion energy that maximizes the scientific and economic benefits for the UK economy. A crucial part of UKAEA’s work is building industrial fusion capability by informing and educating manufacturers and supply chains about the technologies that will be required for fusion energy to be deployed at scale. As part of their research, the UKAEA has been experimenting with metal AM to produce components with the required durability to withstand the intense environment within a fusion energy machine.
“Kingsbury and Additure offered their support in working with UKAEA to develop additive manufacturing as a manufacturing technology for complex geometry fusion components,” said Roy Marshall, Head of Operations for Fabrication, Installation, and Maintenance at the UKAEA. “The UKAEA aims to develop the commercialization of additive manufacturing and support UK industry in the transition into the fusion energy sector. We conduct the complex areas of research and development to the point where it becomes commercially viable, and the advice and support of our supply chain is hugely valuable in expediting this process.”
“We are excited to support the team at the UKAEA as they scale, not just with the SLM 280’s LPBF capability, but with all the key elements of the AM ecosystem to make this a robust manufacturing solution for UKAEA and the UK’s fusion programme,” said Will Priest, Business Development Manager at Additure.
The SLM 280 2.0 can support refractory metal development through production. It achieves additive component build rates up to 80% faster compared to single-laser configurations and, thanks to a PSM powder sieve for depowering and system cooling, ensures operator safety.
To further assist the UKAEA’s ambitious efforts, Additure provided extensive training to the research, material, and design teams. This includes definitive application training on build set-up, optimisation, and use of specific machine features like the heated reduced build volume for small-volume manufacture of powder lots for quick development cycles.
“The applications training from Additure will provide our engineers with new ways to design some of the complex structures required by fusion and allow them to do this using some of the most challenging materials to work with,” said Marshall. “For additive manufacturing to contribute to fusion energy, more designers need to think, ‘What process is most suitable for the desired thermal or structural performance?’ And ‘how do I create a design that is best optimised for additive manufacture?’,” said Mr. Marshall.
