Electron Beam Machining

Deepak Marla
Associate Professor
Email: dmarla@iitb.ac.in
Phone: 9361

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
ME 338: Manufacturing Processes II
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Deepak Marla Electron Beam Machining
Electron Beam Machining (EBM)

EBM uses a pulsating stream of

high-speed electrons that are
bombarded onto the workpiece
to cause material removal.
Electrons are accelerated using
a very high voltage of 100-150
kV.
Pulse frequency can be as high
as 20 kHz. The heat generated can cause
The process is carried out in melting and vaporization of the
vacuum to prevent collisions of workpiece.
electrons with air molecules Concentrated beams can be
which would scatter or diffuse focussed using magnetic lens to
the electron beam. spots of several micrometers.
As the electrons impinge the EBM is used to drill narrow
surface, their kinetic energy is holes, cutting narrow slot and
converted into heat. microstructuring. 2/22
Deepak Marla Electron Beam Machining
Historical Background

Year Development Scientist

1869 Produced cathode rays Hittorf and Crookes

1876 Named cathode rays Eugen Goldstein

1897 Discovery of Electron J.J. Thompson

1905 Electron Beam Melting Marcelo and Pirani

1938 Demonstrated drilling of met- Von Ardene

als using EB
1939 Demonstrated Melting and Va- Rühle
porization in metals using EBM
1952 Electron Beam Machine Steigenwald

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Deepak Marla Electron Beam Machining
Advantages of EBM

Hole of different shapes and sizes can be machined down to 30

microns with high precision.
Dilling holes at very high speed on thin plates (∼4000 holes per sec)
Can machine any material irrespective of properties
Excellent process for micromachining due to its speed and accuracy
High aspect ratio holes can be drilled using EBM
Beam movement is very fast
Very less physical and metallurgical damage in the workpiece
Heat affected zone is very low

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Deepak Marla Electron Beam Machining
Limitations of EBM

High cost of equipment and maintenance.

Requires highly skilled operator
Vacuum generation takes a lot of time.
Hazardous to the operator as it produces x-rays and other emissions
Cannot be applied to thick materials ( <of 10 mm)
Non suitable for large workpieces
Contains recast layer
Low material removal rate
Drilled holes are not perfectly cylindrical but tapered
High cycle time

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Deepak Marla Electron Beam Machining
Electron Beam Machine Setup
EB Generator
Tungsten Filament
(Cathode)
Anode
Control Electrode
Vacuum Chamber
High vacuum is used to avoid
electron collision with air
molecules
Focussing Lens
Process Parameters
Beam is converged to narrow
spots using magnets Beam current, current density
Deflection Coils Pulse duration, Frequency
Beam movement on the Spot diameter
workpiece Focal length
Workpiece table Beam deflection
XYZ mounting table 6/22
Deepak Marla Electron Beam Machining
EB Generation

Cathode
Electrons are emitted by thermionic emission
Current density J due to thermionic emission is given by
Richardson-Dushman equation:
− kWT
J = AT 2 e b

where, W is work function, kb is Boltzmann constant, T is

temperature, A is a constant.
Note: External electric field will alter the current density
Materials with high melting point are used as cathode
Tungsten and Tantalum filaments are used
Cathode itself becomes positively charged, hence supply of electrons
has to be provided. This is done by applying a -ve charge.

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Deepak Marla Electron Beam Machining
Electron Acceleration

The emitted electrons can form a cloud over the cathode

They need to be accelerated
A positively charged electrode (anode) is used to create electric
potential
Electrons get accelerated under electric potential
Anode is designed such that the electrons pass through it

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Deepak Marla Electron Beam Machining
Electron Beam Controller

Beam Generator
Cathode
How to control the current?
Control Electrode
Altering the voltage
Anode
Altering temperature of the cathode

Control Electrode
Using another electrode with a varying -ve voltage, the beam current
can be controlled.
Since both cathode and control electrode are -vely charged, the
electrons emitted from the cathode can be repelled by the control
electrode
If sufficiently high control voltage is used, all the electrons can be
repelled shutting of the beam current.
High control voltage = Low beam current
Low control voltage = High beam current
A cup-shaped control electrode is used (See Figure)

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Deepak Marla Electron Beam Machining
Beam Geometry in a Triode System
All EBM machines use a triode system (cathode, anode and control
electrode)
A divergent beam is produced
Cathode

Control Electrode Electron Beam

Anode

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Deepak Marla Electron Beam Machining
Beam Focussing

A diverging beam does not

have sufficient power density to
cause melting and vaporization
Power density can be increased Electron Beam

by focussing the beams to

narrow spot sizes using Annular winding

magnetic field
The focussing lens consists of
annular coils

Focal Distance
A direct current flows through
annular coils producing a Magnetic Lines

magnetic field
Spot size can be controlled by
varying the direct current in the
annular coil

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Deepak Marla Electron Beam Machining
Beam Deflection

Beam movement can be

achieved by moving the
electron gun or workpiece
Using magnetic field, the beam
can be moved much faster. Coil

Deflection beam is built below Electron Beam

the focussing lens for
transversing the electron beam
Deflection system consists of
four coils placed around the
beam (See Figure)
When current is applied, the
beam can be statically moved
in x- or y-directions or through
any required angles
Using AC current, the beam
can be made to oscillate
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Deepak Marla Electron Beam Machining
 Cathode
Control
electrode

Anode

Electron
Beam

Focusing
Lens

Beam
Deflection
System

Distance
Focal

Deflected Beams

Workpiece

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Deepak Marla Electron Beam Machining
Electron Interaction with Matter

Electron interaction with matter

is a quite complex phenomenon
Electron Beam
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Depth of penetration

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Deepak Marla Electron Beam Machining
Electron Interaction with Matter

Incident electrons may interact with:

The nucleus of an atom
The orbital electrons of an atom
This may result in elastic (no loss in kinetic energy) or inelastic (loss
in kinetic energy).
Elastic collisions do not cause any heating effects
Inelastic collisions with orbital electrons can cause their excitation.
The space in the lower orbital is rapidly filled by higher orbital
electrons leading to release of a photon (visible, UV light or x-rays).
It may also cause ionization
Inelastic collision with nucleus causes slowing of electrons and results
in emission of a photon, also called as Bremsstrahlung (Breaking
radiation)
Only a fraction of the incident energy is converted into heat

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Deepak Marla Electron Beam Machining
Want to See Electron Interaction with Matter?

Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights

This occurs due to electron collision with oxygen and nitrogen molecules
in the atmosphere

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Deepak Marla Electron Beam Machining
Simulations of Electron Beam Interaction with a Solid

Monte-Carlo simulations of electron beam interaction with Albite crystal

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Deepak Marla Electron Beam Machining
Electron Beam Machining of PMMA

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Deepak Marla Electron Beam Machining
Electron Beam Machining: Machining Volume

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Deepak Marla Electron Beam Machining
Depth of Interaction

When electrons impinge a solid surface, it causes heating in a very narrow

depth. For metals, the depth of interaction is approximately given by:

V2
δ=A
ρ

where,
δ is interaction volume (in m),
V is the applied voltage (in Volts),
ρ is the density of the material (in kg/m3 ) and
A is a constant equal to 2.6 × 10−11 (m2 /V2 kg)

Problem
During drilling of steel plates using EBM, an accelerating voltage of
160 kV is used. Determine the electron interaction depth.

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Deepak Marla Electron Beam Machining
Electron Velocity in EBM

The electrons emitted at the cathode are accelerated under the applied
potential leading to gain in their kinetic energies. The electron velocity
(ve ) can be obtained by:
1
me ve2 = eV
2
where, e is the elementary charge, V is the applied potential, me is the
mass of electron, ve is the electron velocity.

Problem
In an EBM machine, if the applied voltage is 40 kV, determine the
velocity of the electrons impinging the workpiece.

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Deepak Marla Electron Beam Machining
Material Removal in EBM

Power
The power of the beam can be written as:

P = V Ib

where, P is the power, Ib is the beam current, and V is the applied

voltage.
If the spot diameter is dw , electron beam intensity can be defined as
φ = 4P/πd2w and current density Jb = 4Ib /πd2w
Only a fraction (η) of the electron beam power gets converted into heat.
Material Removal
The minimum power (Pmin ) required to cause vaporization of the
workpiece material can be calculated as:

πd2w δ
ηPmin ton = ρcp (T − T0 ) + ∆Hm + ∆Hv
4

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Deepak Marla Electron Beam Machining