Advanced & Additive Manufacturing

At the service of the competitiveness of its customers, Framatome accelerates the deployment of its center of excellence dedicated to advanced and additive manufacturing. Bringing together a community of more than 70 experts, engineers and technicians, the Framatome Center of Excellence combines 65 years of nuclear component manufacturing and 15 years at the forefront of additive manufacturing for strategic industries. This effort has already reached major milestones for Framatome and its customers, bringing additive manufacturing technologies to the level of industrial applications: Framatome has successfully introduced in commercial reactors various industrial components from additive manufacturing, thus contributing to the optimization of quality, deadlines, costs, as well as engineering flexibility, operational and design.

Developed in addition to traditional subtractive manufacturing techniques and methods, Framatome invests in the field of additive manufacturing for multiple applications serving strategic players mainly in the nuclear industry but also in defence or aerospace.

Additive manufacturing is a major axis of innovation in symbiosis of traditional techniques and allows to consolidate the capabilities of Framatome. On segments of the value chain to be consolidated, it relies on Framatome’s expertise and historical facilities to initiate and finalize the process.

The advantages of this type of manufacturing are multiple in terms of quality, cost, deadlines, safety, and securing the supply of components. They also carry economic values: reducing the steps for faster production and making quality more reliable, additive manufacturing reduce the risk of error and the weight of components and therefore, manufacturing costs. They also make it possible to minimize the carbon footprint related to manufacturing – up to 80% – while optimizing the recovery of materials. Since safety imperatives are not negotiable, the Framatome program for Advanced and Additive Manufacturing must demonstrate that these manufacturing techniques are compatible with the safety and robustness requirements of the nuclear industry. This is where Framatome’s 65 years of experience in design, nuclear reactor and fuel construction, instrumentation and maintenance are a major differentiator that places the group at the forefront of the new perspectives offered by advanced manufacturing.

Developed in addition to traditional subtractive manufacturing techniques and methods, Framatome invests in the field of additive manufacturing for multiple applications serving strategic players mainly in the nuclear industry but also in defence or aerospace.

Additive manufacturing is a major axis of innovation in symbiosis of traditional techniques and allows to consolidate the capabilities of Framatome. On segments of the value chain to be consolidated, it relies on Framatome’s expertise and historical facilities to initiate and finalize the process.

The advantages of this type of manufacturing are multiple in terms of quality, cost, deadlines, safety, and securing the supply of components. They also carry economic values: reducing the steps for faster production and making quality more reliable, additive manufacturing reduce the risk of error and the weight of components and therefore, manufacturing costs. They also make it possible to minimize the carbon footprint related to manufacturing – up to 80% – while optimizing the recovery of materials. Since safety imperatives are not negotiable, the Framatome program for Advanced and Additive Manufacturing must demonstrate that these manufacturing techniques are compatible with the safety and robustness requirements of the nuclear industry. This is where Framatome’s 65 years of experience in design, nuclear reactor and fuel construction, instrumentation and maintenance are a major differentiator that places the group at the forefront of the new perspectives offered by advanced manufacturing.

Within the Business Unit Projects & Component Manufacturing (PCM BU), the electric arc manufacturing technology (WAAM, see box) will be industrialized in 2024 in Saint-Marcel for the first EPR2 steam generator. The Fuel BU has already introduced components into boiling water reactor assemblies and is developing an anti-debris filter for introduction into pressurized water reactor (PWR) assemblies.

“Our ambition is to provide our customers with safer and more efficient equipment. Using additive manufacturing allows us to improve the quality of our manufacturing, reduce lead times with a positive impact on production costs. Framatome aims to diversify its supply chain and optimize designs. We have already significantly increased the range of sizes and geometrical complexities addressable through additive manufacturing.” says Mohamed Zouari, Head of Advanced and Additive Manufacturing Development at Framatome.

From now on, Framatome’s work is at the service of its customers, such as steam generator tranquillisers: their unit cost is divided by three, the manufacturing time by four. On-site installation is also facilitated and reduces exposure of stakeholders. In the field of fuel, Framatome delivered the first 3D printed stainless steel component to the Forsmark nuclear power plant in Sweden in 2022.

In the short term, several technologies will be qualified this year for industrialization as early as 2024. As part of the Additive Manufacturing roadmap, a first step called Proof of Concept, made it possible to validate both the feasibility and the expected added value of additive manufacturing.

For medium and long-term developments, for which an evolution of the design may be necessary on components with high stakes, Framatome will rely on a Center of Excellence dedicated to Additive Manufacturing.

Framatome boosts its expertise by creating an international community of about 70 members, a pool of specialists. At the initiative of the EDF group, the ARQANE program (a France Relance project involving all nuclear contractors in the French civil and defence sectors, allows Framatome to direct efforts as closely as possible to the needs of engineering and operations. It also benefits from the sharing of experience of universities or industrialists working in strategic fields of nuclear, defence and aeronautics with whom learning expeditions or technical exchanges have fruitfully enriched the program. Framatome’s expertise is also enriched by programs in international networks, for example with the NUclear COmponent Based on Additive Manufacturing (NUCOBAM) projects, a European program bringing together 13 partners from 6 countries.

With the Scientific Direction, an Additive Manufacturing challenge was created. “The goal is to give our scientific teams the means to break down barriers, to tackle challenges deemed difficult such as using additive manufacturing for parts with a volume greater than 2 m³, optimize shapes to perform prescribed functions or reduce the inherent roughness of different processes.” stresses Mohamed Zouari. “To meet our ambitions, we are strengthening coordination between our various projects and strengthening our expertise.”

“If additive manufacturing opens the door to design optimizations, Framatome must be. If we can apply it to pressurized components, Framatome will be.” concludes Gilles Perrin, Scientific Director of Framatome.