Belarus, Russia's Rosatom open additive technology center

MINSK. Sept 30 (Interfax) - The Additive Technologies Center, a joint venture between Belarusian group Horizon and Russian state corporation Rosatom, opened in Minsk on Monday, the National Bank of Belarus (NBB) reported.

"The opening of this center is a new milestone in our cooperation with Rosatom," NBB governor Roman Golovchenko, who previously served as prime minister and was involved in this capacity in the development of the project to set up the center, said.

"The introduction of additive production will support the transition to a new technological paradigm. Compared to conventional technologies, 3D printing makes it possible to manufacture unique products of complex form quickly and cost effectively on the principle of zero waste production," Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev, who took part in the opening ceremony for the center, said.

He said the creation of the center will be "point number one" in the roadmap for Rosatom's cooperation with the Belarusian government on non-nuclear technologies.

"All the equipment at the center is completely technologically independent from third countries. More than have of the machines were manufactured at Rosatom. I am confident that the center's export potential will enable it to soon enter foreign markets with its products and services," Likhachev said.

The center will be able to manufacture up to 1.5 tonnes of products from various metals, up to 3 tonnes of polymer-bound sand molds and up to 100 kg of products from engineering plastics using 3D printing technology.

The creation of the Additive Technologies Center in Minsk is the first case of Rosatom-made 3D printers being shipped outside of Russia. The center is equipped with two machines that print with metal using selective laser melting technology, a Russian-made machine for printing polymer-bound sand molds for casting and a 3D scanner developed by a Rosatom technology partner.