StoryManufacturing
Kairos Power automates fuel pebble inspection and laser tracking in Albuquerque
Kairos Power has commissioned an automated line at its Albuquerque manufacturing campus that inspects fuel pebbles and marks each one with a unique code. Each pebble is measured and laser-scanned before it is packed or loaded into test platforms. The company says the line builds in-house traceability for the Hermes 2 plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
- The near-term target is 70,000 inspected pebbles for test platforms, including the second Engineering Test Unit.
- An infrared laser engraves three redundant data-matrix codes about half a millimeter deep into each pebble's graphite shell; each code links to the pebble's dimensions, density, batch and inspection status.
- Diameter, geometry and density are measured in real time, and lasers scan the surface down to the micron level.
- The article gives no throughput rate or accuracy percentage for the line.