For the first time, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have used additive manufacturing to fabricate the canisters for powder metallurgical hot isostatic pressing (PM-HIP), eliminating the welding, machining and forming steps that have long constrained the production of large, critical metal components. The developments opens a faster, more flexible path to dense, near-final-shape parts for nuclear reactors, turbines and aerospace systems, unlocking the full potential of a process the industry has depended on for decades.
The advance was developed at DOE’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, backed by the Office of Nuclear Energy’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies program, and addresses a bottleneck that has limited PM-HIP’s potential since its inception.
The Canister Problem and How AM Solves It
PM-HIP works by packing metal powder into a sealed container, vacuum-sealing it, then applying extreme heat and pressure to consolidate the material into a fully dense, structurally sound component. The weak point has always been canister fabrication. Conventional methods, forming, machining, welding, introduce multiple failure points, inflate costs and restrict achievable geometries.
By printing canisters directly using laser- and wire-based additive methods, ORNL’s team bypassed those constraints entirely. Parts can now be produced closer to their final shape, cutting material waste and shortening lead times without sacrificing structural integrity.
“This work lays the foundation for a transformative shift in the PM-HIP landscape for large-scale components,” said ORNL researcher Pavan Ajjarapu. “By harnessing the strengths of both additive manufacturing and hot isostatic pressing, we are paving the way for greater design freedom and expanded applications in hydropower and next-generation nuclear reactors.”
Engineering the Material, Not Just the Shape
Beyond geometry, the process gives engineers direct control over material properties. Advanced alloys can be tailored for corrosion resistance, radiation stability and high-temperature performance by controlling internal structure during consolidation, a level of customization that casting or forging cannot match.
Predicting how parts behave under heat and pressure has historically meant costly trial and error. ORNL tackled this with computational modeling. “We further enhanced the effectiveness of PM-HIP technology by using a mechanics-based computational model to reduce developmental costs and lead times by eliminating trial-and-error approaches,” said Jason Mayeur. Researcher Subrato Sarkar is developing custom simulation tools to predict distortion in large, near-final-shape components, removing one of the last major uncertainties in scaling the process.
National Security and Supply Chain Implications
The method’s impact extends well beyond the laboratory. Domestic production of large metal components has long depended on casting and forging infrastructure that is capacity-constrained and vulnerable to disruption.
“This approach offers an alternative to casting and forging,” said ORNL’s Soumya Nag. “It could also help strengthen U.S. manufacturing and national security by easing supply chain shortages.”
The current work builds on a 2024 demonstration in which ORNL printed a 2,000-pound hydropower impeller canister from initial design to finished part in two days, a milestone that drew 200 industry stakeholders to the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility to map the technology’s next steps. What began as a proof of concept is now a validated, scalable capability with direct applications in the energy and defense sectors.
U.S. Casting and Forging Supply Chain
The PM-HIP canister development lands at a moment when the U.S. industrial base is under measurable pressure. For nearly two decades, capability and capacity challenges have hit the U.S. casting and forging industry hard, blocking access to essential components for critical military equipment and support platforms, and federal investment alone hasn’t closed the gap. For large, structurally complex metal components used in nuclear reactors, turbines and aerospace systems, the domestic infrastructure to produce them at scale and on demand simply does not exist. That is the specific problem ORNL’s advance is built to solve.
The urgency is sharpest where large metal components matter most. ATI’s first production contract at its new large-format additive manufacturing facility involves precision-engineered components for the U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, built specifically because conventional casting and forging can no longer meet the demand. In parallel, the U.S. Army’s only operational foundry at Rock Island has seen its workload quadruple over the past 18 months amid a deepening shortage of domestic casting and forging capacity, a pressure point additive manufacturing is being called on to relieve across defense and energy programs.
ORNL’s PM-HIP advance directly answers both pressures. 3D printing the canisters that drive high-pressure metal consolidation gives the U.S. casting and forging supply chain something it currently lacks: a faster, domestically controlled path to large, dense metal components. The gap has been documented for years. This is infrastructure that begins to fill it.
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Featured image shows A team at the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory 3D printed a 2,000-lb PM-HIP canister using 410NiMo, a stainless-steel alloy. Photo via ORNL.
