ELECTRON BEAM WELDING

Author’s: A. Leonard Pawan1, A. Antony Ajay2, K. Manjunath3, S .Yuvaraj Pandi4

1,2,3 & 4 Second year Aeronautical Engineering Students
Adhiyamaan collage of engineering (Autonomous),
M.G.R Nagar, Hosur-635109
Tamil Nadu, India
Email Id:leonardpawan2000@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
Electron beam welding, despite a long history and widespread arc and laser
technology, is still widely used in industry. The main applications for this high efficiency
welding process are: automotive, electronics, electrical engineering, aerospace and
mechanical engineering industry. The technology ensures high-quality welded joints in
structural metals in a wide range of thickness from 0.025 mm to 300 mm. It also used for the
production of films and coatings by deposition and surface modification. In the paper
approximated examples of the use of the electron beam are given by the welding, rapid
prototyping, texturing surface, cladding with wire and powder as well as alloying. It also
provides information about the possible techniques that can be used during these processes
and the trends in electron beam welding.
Keywords: Electron beam welding, Electron beam oscillation, Machine, Beam focus
control, Keyhole

INTRODUCTION
Electron beam welding (EBW) is a fusion welding process often done in a vacuum.
The process has a number of advantages: high power concentration in the electron beam, easy
control of the energy flow into the metal, smaller heat-affected areas, equal strength of the
weld joint and main metal, etc. These advantages allow the use of electron beams for welding
reactive and nonferrous metals, high-tensile and heat-resistant alloys that are typically used in
the production of critical products.
However, certain problems arise in the EBW process, which are related to
instability of weld-joint formation and difficulties in creating and controlling an optimal
focus regime. A major limitation in controlling such a focus regime is the lack of
understanding of the processes occurring during EBW. The complex character and high
speed of these processes make numerical modeling very difficult, forcing researchers to rely
on experimental research methods.
 The basic parameters of EBW are accelerating voltage, electron beam current,
focusing-coil current, welding speed, operating distance, vacuum level in the process.

HISTROY
Electron-beam welding was developed by the German physicist Karl-Heinz
Steigerwald in 1949, who was at the time working on various electron-beam applications.
Steigerwald conceived and developed the first practical electron-beam welding machine,
which began operation in 1958.American inventor James T. Russell has also been credited
with designing and building the first electron-beam welder.

EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

All the welding experiment were carried out in 1 cu meter electron beam welding
machine. This facility was provided in MTAR (Machine Tools Aid and Refurbishing)
industries which is leading production unit in space related component

Elements Description

Vacuum chamber Stainless steel

E.B Gun system Indirectly heated movement cathode gun with 60 KV pump with
dedicated vacuum system
Gun vacuum 0.000001 m bar
Chamber pumping Oil diffusion pump backed by rotary vane pump
system
Surface region AISI- 304 L 350[H]*360[D]*400[L]
Manipulation system Gun vertical movement rotary manipulator
[radial weld],rotary manipulator[facial weld]
WELDABLE MATERIAL IN EBW
When designing a component as a welded fabrication it may be necessary to
compromise between opting for the ideal mechanical properties of a material and choosing
another specification that has better welding properties.  A grade of steel normally used for a
cast component for example, would not be the obvious choice for a welded fabrication.

1] Steel:
Low carbon, case hardening and austenitic stainless steels are generally weld able as
are most nickel and copper base alloys.
It is important to note that free cutting grades should not be specified for welded
fabrications; the lead and sulphur additions so helpful to the machinist act as a contaminant
and can adversely affect weld quality.
High carbon, direct hardening steels need careful selection as the welding operation
hardens the joint area.  The degree of hardness varies with the composition of the alloy and in
general, the higher carbon grades become crack prone and difficult to weld satisfactorily.

2] Aluminum alloys:
The low and medium strength grades weld satisfactorily but the higher strength
alloys are crack prone, primarily due to their higher copper content. The availability of a wide
range of extruded tube, bar and plate sections has resulted in EBW becoming a popular
method for fabricating precision machined components of all descriptions as an alternative to
casting, forging or machined from solid.

3] Exotic metals:
Titanium alloys are ideally suited to a welding technique carried out in vacuum
and, with the limited range of stock sections available, the ability to fabricate complex
components by EBW opens up interesting design possibilities. Hastelloy and Nickel based
alloys such as Inco 625 & 718 all EB weld with great success.
Other refractory metals are less commonly used in general engineering and of
these,  Molybdenum and Zirconium are weld able but Tungsten is very crack prone.

4] Dissimilar metals
 That are weld able include low carbon and stainless steels to each other and to
copper and nickel base alloys.  Aluminum and refractory metals generally cannot be joined
satisfactorily to other materials by EBW.

TESTING TECHNIQUE
Various testing methods are used to determine the specifications, and mechanical
properties (hardness) of the used bread
Some welding test technique used in EBW 
1. X-Ray film radiography 
2. Dye penetration test
3. Vickers hardness test (or) Micro hardness test
4. Micro structure analysis
5. Depth of penetration using optical projector 
This are the testing technique for the work piece before doing electron beam welding

CONSTRUCTION: The various Equipment of Electron beam welding is

1] ELECTRON GUN
It is used to generate, accelerates and align the electron beam in a desired direction and
spots on the w/p. There are two types of electron guns, the first one is accelerated and the
second one is work accelerated. In self accelerated gun, the acceleration of electron takes by
applying a potential difference between cathode and anode. And in the work accelerated gun,
the acceleration of the electron takes place by applying the potential difference between the
cathode and work piece. The work piece (w/p) acts as anode.

The main parts of electron gun are:

(i) Cathode (Emitter or Filament): It emits the electron.

(ii) Anode: It is a positively charged Electrode and attracts the electron produced by the
cathode. It accelerated the electrons under the influence of high potential difference. For high
voltage equipment, the potential difference ranges from 70 kV to 150 kV and for small
voltage equipment it ranges from 15 – 30 kV

(iii) Grid Cup: It is used to control the electron beam. It stops the divergence of electrons
produced by the cathode. It has applied with negative voltage with respect to the cathode.

(iv) Focusing Unit: It consists of two parts – a magnetic lens and a deflector coil. The
magnetic lens focuses the electron beam on the w/p. And the deflector coil is used to deflect
or guide the beam to the desired locations. The extent of deflection can be varied by changing
the amount of dc voltage across the deflector plate.

2] POWER SUPPLY UNIT:

It is mainly consist a high power DC Supply source for fun, focusing and deflection
coil. It provide power supply for acceleration of the electrons .The potential difference for
high voltage equipment ranges from 70-150 KV and low voltage equipment 15-30 KV . The
current level ranges from 50-100 mA .The amount of current depends upon the diameter and
type of the filament. AC or DC current is required to heat the filament for emission of
electron. However DC current is preferred as it affects the direction of the beam 

3] VACCUM CHAMBER:
The gun portion of an electron gun assemble generally is isolated from the welding
chamber through the use of values when desired or by using vacuum divides when employing
medium or non - medium vacuum system . Vacuum in the gun region is needed to maintain
gun component cleanliness, prevent filament oxidation and impede high pressure short
circuiting between the cathode and the anode or the filament and the grid cup.
Most EBW is done in a vacuum environment where the maximum absent ambient pressure is
less than 0.13 tor. Maintenance of this degree of vacuum is important because of the effect
that ambient pressure has on both the beam and weld produced

EBW Variant Description Operating pressure Temperature

High vacuum EBW A pioneer process 13 MPa or lower

Medium vacuum EBW Soft vacuum process At 13 MPa
Non vacuum EBW Atmospheric process At 100 KPa
Based on vacuum intensity the EBW have following 3 type:

4] WORK HANDLING DEVICES:

The fixtures are used to hold the work piece. The work piece motion is controlled by the
CNC (Computer Numerical Control)

WORKING PRINCIPLE:
It works on the principle that when a high-velocity beam of electron that has Kinetic energy
strikes the two metal pieces, the kinetic energy of the electron transformed into heat. The
intensity of heat produced is so much that it melts the two metal pieces and fuse them
together to form a strong weld.
  In Electron Beam welding, the electron is produced by the cathode of the electron
gun.
After cathode, a cup grid is provided. It prevents the divergence of electron and control it.
 Because of the high voltage applied across the cathode and anode. The anode which is
positively charged attracts the electron from the cup grid.
 The anode accelerates the electron and its velocity increases and reaches the range of
50000 – 200000 km/s. From the anode, the high-velocity electron beam is passed
through the magnetic lens and deflector coils.
The magnetic lens focuses the electron beam to the desired location on the work piece. And
the deflector coil deflects the beam to the required weld area. As the high-velocity electron
beam strikes the work piece, intense heat is produced and it melts the metal of the two work
pieces and fills the weld area. The molten weld solidifies and forms a strong weld joint.

ADVANTAGE:
1. A clean process as it is carried out in a vacuum chamber:
EBW is free from potential gas contamination as the welding is done in a vacuum chamber,
resulting in a high-quality weld with no oxidation.

2. Good for delicate assemblies:

 Since EBW uses localized heating (small Heat Affected Zone, or HAZ) and has
minimal heat input, the surrounding material stays cool. This allows for welding of
delicate products and close to heat sensitive areas such as populated electronics
enclosures. EBW has a HAZ similar to laser beam welding, which is less than 5% of a
similar TIG weld.
3. High quality and integrity from machine-controlled automation:
EBW has high strength with minimal distortion or damage. Also, very little post-weld
machining is needed due to its accuracy, making it suitable for welding precision
parts. Since the machine is programmable, it is possible to have custom weld-profiles.
4. Repeatable accuracy and quality control:
Precise parameters can be machine-programmed to reproduce welds in large
quantities whilst maintaining accuracy.
5. Joining dissimilar materials:
One of EBW’s greatest advantages is its ability to weld materials with different
melting points, such as copper to stainless steel. From a cost and performance
perspective EB welding also has the ability to weld high-cost nickel alloys to
relatively low-cost stainless steel.
6. No filler material used:
Typically, no filler materials are used in the EB welding process. It is the parent
material which is melted to create the join and thus the assembly.
7. Range of penetrations:
A variety of weld penetrations are possible, from 0,005” (0,127mm) to 2” (50mm). It
also has a high depth to width ratio (10:1 to 40:1 in many cases).
8. High welding speeds:
Although EBW has a longer cycle time than laser beam welding, it achieves high
welding speeds of up to 30mm per second.
9. Cost Savings:
EBW is a cost-effective method of welding, only requiring a single pass of the
electron beam, unlike TIG, MIG and arc welding which tend to endorse multiple
passes of the heat source.
The EBW process can also deliver weight savings if the products design allows for this,
which can then lead on to further benefits such as a reduction in lead time and inventory
costs.
DISADVANTAGE: 

1. Setup costs:
The initial outlay for equipment is expensive. With these costs in mind, a company
will need a large work-flow in order to justify the investment. It is usually more cost
effective to outsource your EBW requirements unless you have a large volume
throughput over a long period of time.
2. Equipment:
Due to the complex technical equipment, expert operators are essential. If you are
starting with a clean piece of paper, you will need to invest in professional training
and employ experienced qualified welding engineers.
3. Size limitations:
The size of the components to be welded is limited by the size of the vacuum chamber
at your disposal.
4. X Rays & Radiation:
Safety standards are exceptionally strict as x-rays and radiation are both present
during the welding process.

APPLICATION OF EBW:

1. The full range of electron beam welded fabrications is incredibly diverse:

After all, not many welding techniques can weld (say) steel that is 0.1mm thick, or at
the other extreme 300mm thick in a single pass.
2. Bi-metal saw blades are produced in large numbers by electron beam welding:
The high speed steel required for the cutting teeth is electron beam welded in a
narrow strip to the main part of the blade, which is in low carbon steel. Material costs
are reduced, and the bi-metal blade is considerably more flexible and thus less prone
to breakage. This results in an improved product, both in terms of cost and
performance.

3. Transmission assemblies are frequently fabricated by electron beam welding:

Complex parts can be fabricated with great savings in machining and materials. The
parts can be finish-machined and hardened prior to welding, which is the final
operation. This example illustrates the ability of electron beam welding to restrict
 distortion to a minimal level, thus allowing easy fabrication of otherwise difficult or
even impossible components.
4. Aerospace components in titanium alloys are fabricated by electron beam
welding:
Again low distortion means intricate components can be accurately joined. Due to the
clean vacuum welding environment, there is no risk of oxygen pick-up and
consequent weld when electron beam welding these titanium alloys.

RESULT AND DISSCUTION:

The results of this study demonstrate the possibility of understanding the processes in
the penetration channel in EBW based on the parameters of plasma secondary-emission
electron current signal formed above the welded zone. It is possible to state the following:
1. Duplicated harmonica of the oscillation frequency dominates in plasma secondary
current signal spectrum at EBW with electron-beam oscillation across the joint.
2. Both first and second harmonics are present at the process of EBW with electron-
beam oscillation along the joint in the plasma secondary current signal. With
increasing focus degree the first harmonic decreases monotonously and the second
harmonic increases.
3. The method described here makes it possible to observe the shape of the keyhole
directly in the welding regime. In the under focused regime, the beam interacts with a
forward wall and the bottom of the keyhole. In the over focused regime, the keyhole
becomes more symmetric and the beam interacts almost equally with the forward and
back walls of the keyhole.

CONCULSION

1. Electron beam technology had advanced for decades reaching its current highest level.
EB welders have matured to meet the demands of modern industries such as the low
volume, high quality aircraft industry, as well as mass production-orientated
automotive industries. In all these applications the process proved to be robust and
flexible at the same time.
2. All grades of steel can be welded, as well as low melting alloys such as aluminum and
magnesium, and high melting materials such as Nickel- and Cobalt-based alloys. The
pattern generator, unique to the EBW welding process, has proven to be very
powerful in stabilizing the key hole to improve the process' robustness and produce
defect-free welds.
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