Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC), a developer of Micro Modular Reactor (MMR) systems for the production of nuclear energy, has acquired two Desktop Metal X-Series binder jet 3D printers with two more to follow later this year.

USNC already had a small-format InnoventX installed at its Salt Lake City facility, and will now add the larger X25 Pro and X160Pro systems. These machines have been the subject of a slight rebrand since Desktop Metal’s acquisition of ExOne last year.

With these 3D printing systems, USNC will look to utilise their capacity to print silicon carbide, a technical ceramic with extreme environmental stability. USNC uses nuclear-grade silicon carbide to create shapes and forms that safely surround nuclear fuel particles to enable its ‘Fully Ceramic Micro-encapsulated (FCM) fuel innovation.’ FCM is used by USNC to fuel its MMR energy systems which are designed to generate clean, low-cost energy. Testing of this technology is currently underway by the Nuclear Research & Consultancy Group in the Netherlands, while project licensing is being explored with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and a deployment prepared at Chalk River Laboratories.

“Binder jetting is a low-cost, high-yield, reliable process for our complex serial production,” commented 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.”

“Driving mass adoption of additive manufacturing requires scalable systems capable of printing high-performance materials that enable the most innovative applications,” added Desktop Metal co-founder and CEO Ric Fulop. “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.”

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