A team from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) won the 2026 SME Aubin Award for developing a large-format 3D printing method to manufacture molds for building advanced nuclear reactors. The work, carried out at the DOE's Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, promises to save weeks of work and significantly reduce costs in a sector where precision is key.
Printed molds that accelerate nuclear construction 🏭
The technique uses large-scale 3D printers to create casting molds with complex geometries that previously required extensive machining. By eliminating multiple assembly and manual adjustment steps, the process reduces manufacturing time from weeks to days. The molds are used to pour high-strength concrete or metals into critical reactor components, maintaining tight tolerances without relying on slower, more expensive traditional methods.
Goodbye to traditional molds, hello to nuclear printing ☕
Now, instead of waiting weeks for a mold to arrive from some distant workshop, engineers can print one while sipping their morning coffee. Of course, with the pressure of not making a mistake: an error in the STL file could turn the reactor into a barbecue heat source. But hey, at least the time savings allow you to get to lunch earlier.