Electron beam welding is a powerful beam welding process. The heat source in electron beam welding for melting joints is a focused beam of high-velocity electrons. The electron beam upon impinging on the workpiece releases the necessary heat by converting its kinetic energy.
Electron beam welding is a fusion welding process in which a beam of high-velocity electrons is applied to two materials to be joined. It is often performed under vacuum conditions to prevent dissipation of the electron beam. Let us have a deep insight into the pros and cons of electron beam welding in this article.
Advantages of electron beam welding :
- No gas contamination.
- Deepest weld penetration.
- The depth-to-width ratios between 10:1 to 30:1 can be easily realized with electron beam welding.
- It is done in a vacuum environment so clean welding environment is guaranteed.
- Small heat affected zone similar to laser beam welding.
- It allows welding of titanium, refractory metals and flammable metals.
- Widely used in many industries.
- Filler metal or flux are not needed to be used in this process of welding.
- No additional processing is required.
- The process can be used at higher welding speeds, typically between 125 to 200 mm/s.
- It is also possible to closely control this penetration by controlling the accelerating voltage, beam current and beam focus.
- The heat liberated is low and also is in a narrow zone. Thus, the heat-affected zone is minimal as well as weld distortion is eliminated.
Disadvantages of electron beam welding :
- Due to vacuum enclosure, high initial set up cost.
- Size is restricted by a vacuum chamber only small to medium size items can be welded.
- Sometimes this process required complex tooling.
- X-rays generated during welding.
- Longer cycle time than laser beam welding so this process is time-consuming.