Electron Beam Welding: Working, Equipment & Applications

In this article, you learn what is Electron beam welding? its working principle, equipment, applications, advantages, and more.

Also, download the PDF file of this article at the end.

What is Electron Beam Welding?

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EBW or Electron beam welding is a welding process that uses the heat produced by a beam of high-energy electrons.

Electrons hit the workpiece, and their kinetic energy is transformed into thermal energy, heating the metal so that the sides of the workpiece can be joined and a weld can be formed after freezing.

Electron beam welding is also a liquid-state welding process. In which, the metal to the metal joint is formed in a liquid or molten state. It is also named a welding process because it uses electrons’ kinetic energy to join two metal workpieces.

History of EBW

This welding was invented in 1958 by the German physicist Karl-Heinz. In this welding process, a high stream of electrons strikes the welding plates, where their kinetic energy is converted into heat energy.

This heat energy is enough to melt the workpieces and join them into one piece. This entire process takes place in a vacuum. Otherwise, electrons collide with air particles and lose their energy.

If you want to buy the electron beam welding machine costs around $1,000,000 of EBW-112x102x66 available in Sciaky. The machine has a 30KW W2000 computer-controlled hard vacuum beam welder, with a low voltage (60KV) gun.

Equipment of EBW

The following are the equipment of EBW:

Electron gun
Anode
Magnetic lenses
Electromagnetic lens and deflection coil
Work holding device
Vacuum chamber
Power supply

#1 Electron Gun

It is an important equipment of electron beam welding. It is a cathode tube (negative pole) that generates electrons, accelerates them, and concentrates in one place.

This gun is often made of tungsten or tantalum alloys. The cathode filament heated up to 2500°C for the continuous discharge of electrons.

#2 Anode

The anode is a positive pole just behind the electron gun. Its main function is to attract a negative charge, (electrons in this case), giving them a path and not allowing them to deviate from their path.

#3 Magnetic Lenses

There are a series of magnetic lenses that allow only the converging electrons to pass. They all absorb divergent electrons with low energy and provide a highly intense electron beam.

#4 Electromagnetic Lens and Deflection Coil

Electromagnetic lenses are employed to focus the electron beam onto the workpiece, and the deflection coil deflects the beam to the expected weld area. These are the final units of the EBW process.

#5 Work Holding Device

This welding process uses CNC tables to hold workpieces that can rotate in all three directions. Welding plates are fastened to the CNC table with the use of suitable fixtures.

#6 Vacuum Chamber

As you know, this entire process takes place in a vacuum chamber. The vacuum is produced by mechanical or electric-powered pumps. The pressure range in the vacuum chamber is about 0.1 to 10 Pa.

#7 Power Supply

This EBM welding process uses a power source to supply a continuous beam of electrons for the welding process. The welding voltage range for low voltage equipment or thin welding is about 5 – 30 kV and for high voltage equipment 70 – 150 kV for thick welding.

Working Principle of EBW

It works on the principle of welding electron beam machining. This process uses the kinetic energy of electrons to generate heat. This heat is used to weld two welding plates.

When a high stream of electrons strikes the welding plates, its kinetic energy is converted into heat energy. This heat energy is enough to form a fused joint by joining two metal plates together.

Working of Electron Beam Welding

EBM is a welding process utilizing heat generated by a beam of high-energy electrons. The electrons hit the workpiece, and their kinetic energy turns into thermal energy, heating the metal so that the sides of the workpiece are joined, and a weld can be formed after freezing.

The process is carried out in the vacuum chamber at a pressure of about 2 x 10-7 to 2 x 10-6 psi (0.0013 to 0.0013 Pa). Such a high vacuum is required to prevent the loss of the energy of the electron in collisions with air molecules.

The electrons are emitted by a cathode (electron gun). Due to the high voltage (about 150 kV) used between the cathode and the anode, the electrons are stimulated up to 30% – 60% of the speed of light. The kinetic energy of the electrons becomes sufficient for melting the targeted weld. Some of the energy of the electron transforms into X-ray irradiation.

Electrons stimulated by an electric field are then focused into a thin beam in the focusing coil. The deflection coil moves the electron beam along the weld. The electron beam is capable of welding workpieces with thicknesses from 0.004″ (0.01 mm) up to 6″ (150mm) of steel and up to 20″ (500mm) of aluminum.

Electron beam welding can be used to join any metal, including metals that are rarely welded by other welding methods: refractory metals (tungsten, molybdenum, and niobium) and chemically active metals (titanium, zirconium, and beryllium).

Electron beam welding is also capable of joining dissimilar metals. The arrangement is done as shown in the figure.

Advantages of Electron Beam Welding

The following are the advantages of EBW:

Tight continuous weld.
It has low distortion.
Narrow weld and narrow heat-affected zone.
Filler metal is not required.
It can weld both uniform and diffusion metals.
The electron beam welding process provides a high metal joining rate.
It can be used to weld hard materials.
It provides high-surface finish welding.
The entire process in a vacuum has fewer welding defects.

Disadvantages of Electron Beam Welding

The following are the disadvantages of EBW:

Its equipment is very expensive.
It has high production expenses.
This type of welding has X-ray radiation.
It has high capital or installed costs.
Regular maintenance is required.
The size of the workpiece is limited according to the vacuum chamber.
It requires highly skilled labor.

Applications of Electron Beam Welding

The following are the applications of EBW:

It is used in aerospace industries and marine industries for infrastructure work.
This type of welding is generally used in automobile industries for connecting gears, transmission systems, turbochargers, etc.
EBM is applied to join titanium and its alloys.
It is used in electronic industries to weld electronic connectors.
This EBM welding process is also used in nuclear reactors and medical industries.

Conclusion

So now, we hope that we have cleared all your doubts about EBM. If you have still any doubts about the “Electron beam welding” you can ask in the comments.

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FAQs

What is electron beam welding?

Electron-beam welding (EBW) is a fusion welding procedure that involves applying a beam of high-velocity electrons to two materials that need to be connected. When the electrons hit something, their kinetic energy is converted to heat, causing the workpieces to melt and flow together.

What are the applications of EBW?

Among the many industries that use high-power electron beam systems for welding and drilling are aerospace, automotive, semiconductor, medical, nuclear, oil and gas, power generation, and many more.

What is the advantage of electron beam welding?

EBW is capable of welding metals with differing melting points, including copper and stainless steel. As far as cost and performance are concerned, EB welding can also weld high-cost nickel alloys to relatively low-cost stainless steel.

What materials are used in EBW?

Many metals can be joined together by EB welding, such as titanium, most nickel and copper alloys, stainless steel, high and low carbon steel, and more.