23:09, 19 December 2025

Rosatom Unveils New Industrial 3D Printers for Metal Powder Printing

The systems are designed to manufacture complex components for strategic industries.

Rosatom enterprise TsNIITMASH has built and delivered two new large-format 3D printers for producing parts from metal powders. The machines are capable of manufacturing components with highly complex geometries from refractory and hard-to-weld alloys, opening new opportunities for Russian mechanical engineering amid restrictions on imported components.

Up to 800 Degrees Celsius

One of the printers, the MeltMaster3D-550, features one of the largest build volumes among domestic systems at 550 × 450 × 450 mm and is equipped with four laser units. This configuration allows the production of large spare parts and tooling for industrial equipment. The second system, the MeltMaster3D-350VT, is the only machine in Russia capable of operating at temperatures of up to 800 degrees Celsius. This capability is critical for processing high-strength alloys prone to cracking and used in safety-critical structures.

The first customer for the new equipment is the AEM-Spetsstal metallurgical plant, part of Rosatom’s machine-building division. The printers will initially operate in test mode, producing tooling elements and spare parts, before moving on to serial production of certified components for key customers in the nuclear industry and other industrial sectors.

“Selective laser melting makes it possible to manufacture parts that cannot be produced using traditional methods. It accelerates the development and production of components tailored to specific requirements. This is especially important for rapid spare-parts manufacturing, which has strategic significance,” said Viktor Orlov, CEO of TsNIITMASH.

He added that deploying such systems lays the groundwork for digital transformation in the certification and documentation of materials and products. A detailed digital trace of how a component’s structure is formed ensures full traceability of its properties throughout the entire life cycle.

SLM Technology

The development of in-house additive manufacturing technologies is a key element of Rosatom’s technological sovereignty strategy.

“Bringing key expertise in-house strengthens business resilience and reduces reliance on external suppliers. Equipping production facilities with such printers is an important step toward providing domestic equipment for manufacturing safety-critical products,” said Ilya Kavelashvili, director of the Additive Technologies business line at Rosatom’s Fuel Division.

The new 3D printers are based on selective laser melting (SLM) technology, in which metal powders are fused layer by layer using a laser. Components produced this way often outperform traditionally manufactured parts in strength and durability because they are monolithic and free of weld seams. TsNIITMASH’s development demonstrates the ability of Russian industry to create competitive high-tech equipment needed for aerospace, energy, and other advanced sectors both in Russia and globally.

Industry and import substitution