Functioning:
Electron meets matter
Electrons are elementary components of matter. In solid objects, they are responsible for the transport of electrical charges and thus for the flow of current. The particles loaded on a cathode are released, accelerated and bundled into a fine beam when using an electron beam to process materials.
When hitting matter, the electron beam releases energy. The material absorbs this energy and converts it into heat. Due to the high beam intensity at the focal point, some of the molten mass vaporizes. This results in a vapor capillary that penetrates the material and enables weld depths of up to several hundred millimeters.
Welding in a vacuum without shield gas
Industrial processing using electron beam technology takes place in a vacuum inside a vacuum chamber. This process has several advantages:
- Processing in a vacuum results in high-quality weld seams and clean workpieces.
- In several cases, it is more cost-efficient than working in a shield gas atmosphere.
- It results in no harmful emissions.
The use of gate shuttle modules allows for loading and unloading while the process is running. As a result, working in a vacuum does not adversely affect manufacturing time.
As a leading company in the field of electron beam technology, we harness these benefits in various ways: Electron beam technology results in more efficient production processes, higher quality products and more successful companies - whether through drive shafts for electric cars, filtration systems for the food industry or fuel tanks for space rockets.
Advantages of the electron beam technology
The electron beam is a purely digital tool. This means that processes are easy to automate and results can be reproduced any time. In addition, users profit from seamless process monitoring and quality control.
Almost all metallic materials can be processed using electron beam technology, from case-hardened steels, aluminum and aluminum alloys to titanium. Electron beam welding ensures reliable and stable metal compounds for high load-bearing components.
Thanks to focused heat input into the material, electron beam technology allows almost warp-free welding with little or no change to material properties. It is one of the most warp-free welding processes. At the same time, electron beam technology is characterized by welding penetration depths of over 150 millimeters for very narrow and parallel seam geometries. Thus the electron beam is significantly superior to conventional welding processes and offers even more advantages than laser technology.
The electron beam can be formed and influenced intelligently using magnetic fields. This allows the construction of components with almost any geometries to increase flexibility in process design and deliver cost savings.
Electron beam technology is well suited for the manufacture of large unit quantities due to easy seam preparation and high welding speed. This eliminates the need for multiple welding or additional material. Generally, components are ready for installation straight after welding.
Electron beam welding takes place in a vacuum so there is no need to use expensive shield gas.
