Electron Beam-/Laser Processing
- The electron beam welds metals with minimized energy input with or without filler material. It produces deep seams with a narrow heat affected zone for mechanically finished parts. Compared to a laser, it provides a very energy efficient beam source with fast beam deflection. The CNC-controlled, robust welding process produces low distortion welds. The particle beam couples independent of the wavelength into optically reflective surfaces and allows for a broad spectrum of welded metals e.g. Copper or Aluminum.
The laser beam welding with brilliant solid-state lasers at atmospheric pressure produces a metal vapor plume above the vapor capillary. The vapor plume impacts the molten bath uncontrolled and causes spatter. In a vacuum, neither a vapor plume nor spatter arises. Therefore, the combination of vacuum and solid-state laser has the following advantages:
- better energy coupling requires lower beam power
- very good results in conditionally weldable materials
- Standard beam sources of competing producers
- one fast switchable laser source can supply several processing stations
- In the case of surface treatment by electron beam, the electrons are not optically reflected from shiny surfaces, in contrast to the photons of a laser. The variable electromagnetic Focus offers significant advantages to a 3D surface. Furthermore state of the art electro magnetic EB deflection is two magnituedes faster than mechanical laser deflection. In particular, the following surface modifications in series are therefore interesting:
- Electron Beam hardening
- Electron Beam remelting
- Electron Beam surface structuring
- Electron Beam engraving
- Electron Beam polishing
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- Pressing of plane surfaces under high vacuum at 60% to 90% of the lowest melting temperature of the material composite
- Fast heating by electron beam
- Atoms switch positions between the interface surfaces
- Layer additive manufacturing of prepared sheets that form hollow structures such as cooling channels
- Bonding of metallic materials (eg, tool steels) and non-metallic materials that are not weldable by fusion
- Electron beam is particularly suitable for CNC-controlled wire or ribbon applicaton.
- Electon beam power is scalable at low cost per kW; This makes it ideal for high deposition rates with a wire.
- Since the laser doesn’t electrostatically charge up the powder particles it is predestined for applying powder using a nozzle.