China’s First Additively Manufactured Impact-Type Hydro Turbine Runner Prototype Successfully Developed
2026-03-11
Additive manufacturing technology is hailed as one of the key technologies driving the “Third Industrial Revolution” and has become an important means of accelerating the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing sector. Harbin Electric Group Motor Company entered this field as early as 2013, making it one of the first domestic organizations to conduct research on the application of 3D printing technology. In 2015, the company successfully manufactured China’s first non-metallic 3D-printed model runner suitable for hydraulic testing of model turbines, thereby completing the feasibility study and preliminary R&D on metal 3D-printing technology for model runners.
According to available information, additive manufacturing is hailed as one of the key technologies driving the “Third Industrial Revolution” and has become an important enabler for accelerating the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing sector. Harbin Electric Group’s Motor Company entered this field as early as 2013, making it one of the first domestic organizations to conduct research on the application of 3D printing technology. In 2015, the company successfully manufactured China’s first non-metallic 3D-printed model runner suitable for hydraulic testing of model turbines, thereby completing the feasibility study and preliminary R&D on metal 3D-printing technology for model runners.
In recent years, the Motor Company of Harbin Electric Group has established the “Hydraulic Turbine Runner Additive Manufacturing Innovation and Entrepreneurship Team” based on its model runner 3D-printing project team. Leveraging platforms such as the State Key Laboratory of Hydropower Equipment and the National Engineering Research Center for Hydropower Equipment, the team is firmly grounded in industry development, driven by market demand, and focused on the key challenges and pain points in product manufacturing within the sector. Taking the additive manufacturing of impulse turbine runners—the most representative type of hydraulic turbine runner—as a breakthrough, the team has undertaken in-depth applied research and innovation.
The successful development of China’s first additively manufactured impulse turbine runner, along with its subsequent operational verification at a power station, provides an effective and viable new solution for the manufacturing of ultra-high-head, ultra-large-capacity impulse turbine runners in hydropower projects. Harbin Electric Group Motor Company has made significant contributions to advancing the application of additive manufacturing technology in China into new fields and fostering new developments.
Recently, the additively manufactured impact turbine runner has been installed and is now in operation. Its safety, service life, and efficiency will be further evaluated and validated, thereby laying a solid foundation for the wider adoption of this technology and the expansion of its market.
Keywords:
Machine tool,Spindle,Workpiece
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