Our “advantages” page on electron beam welding have told us what its outstanding advantages are. But how does it compare with other kinds of welding, and what are its prospects as a production welding technique? Westinghouse has made a thorough study of these questions at its Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory and has voted in favor of the new process, at least for certain applications.

“Chemical analyses, metallography, corrosion tests, and mechanical property evaluations have revealed satisfactory properties in the Zircaloy-2 welded by this process.” Of course, the main reason for its success in welding a reactive material like Zircaloy-2 is that the process operates in a high vacuum. At a pressure of only about 0.03 micron of mercury, there is practically no atmosphere left in the welding chamber to cause contamination. And, unless the high vacuum is maintained, the electrons will not travel from the cathode to bombard the work.

High depth-to-width ratio

A particular advantage of electron beam welding equipment is the high concentration of thermal energy at the work piece. Because of this feature, the machine can make welds with a depth-to-width ratio of 2:1 in Zircaloy-2, and a ratio of 3:1 has been achieved with special machine adjustments. But what does this mean in actual processing? Primarily, it means a narrow fusion zone and heat-affected zone, and it means less shrinkage and thermal distortion. The equipment also maintains “remarkably uniform weld penetration.”

The deep penetration of electron beam welds minimizes the amount of over-penetration and avoids the obliteration of adjacent seams. With the tungsten arc process, the seam adjacent to the last seam welded becomes covered by the fusion zone, and accurate tracking is difficult.

Reduced shrinkage

The lowered total energy input to the weld by the electron beam effectively reduces the shrinkage and thermal distortion to which the work piece is subjected. Total transverse shrinkage per weld seam has been 0.010 to 0.012 in. for tungsten arc welds and only 0.001 to 0.002 in. for electron beam welds. These benefits are possible only with high-voltage electron beam equipment.

How about costs?

But, with all its advantages, how does high-voltage electron beam welding stack up on costs? Andrews Hi-Tec Corp says the main factor here is the greatly reduced distortion because of lower energy input. Special spacers will be eliminated; post-weld match machining will be reduced; and special straightening operations will no longer be necessary. In addition, deep penetration will eliminate the need for multiple passes and filler wire additions. And the vacuum will permit fuel elements to be welded without removing the corrosion film left by previous corrosion tests and will permit elimination of subsequent corrosion testing of fuel assemblies.

Overall savings is huge

Taking all these savings together it appears that there is a potential cost reduction of 45 to 60% in direct labor costs of a typical assembly. Enough of a savings to justify choosing the electron beam welding expertise of Andrew Hi-Tec Corporation for your metal joining production applications.

For more information, contact Andrews Hi-Tec Corporation at 2447 Merced Ave., South El Monte, CA 91733; 1-626-443-1488; info@andrewsebweld.com or see http://www.AndrewsEBweld.com

Andrews Hi-Tec Electron Beam Welding is a fusion welding process with great promise specifically in the medical, nuclear and aerospace industries.

Electron Beam Welding is a fusion welding process in that the mechanism of welding is to join two or more pieces of metal by local melting, which results in coalescence. Filler metal and base metal, or more likely, base metal only may be melted together to produce a joint.

The heat required for welding is produced by the bombardment of the work by a dense beam of high velocity electrons. That is, the electron beam is directed upon the area to be fused, and the electrons upon striking the surface of the metal give up their kinetic energy almost completely in the form of heat energy.

For more information about Electron Beam Welding and to request a free EB weld sample of your part, please contact Andrews Hi-Tec Corporation at (626) 443-1488 and research more information about the electron beam welding process on the internet at https://www.andrewsebweld.com

For more information, contact Andrews Hi-Tec Corporation at 2447 Merced Ave., South El Monte, CA 91733; 1-626-443-1488; info@andrewsebweld.com or see http://www.AndrewsEBweld.com

The history of electron beam welding (EBW) is an impressive journey that traces its roots to the development of electron microscopy in post-war Germany. The technology emerged through the pioneering work of physicist Karl-Heinz Steigerwald, who worked at Carl Zeiss in Stuttgart, Germany, a company renowned for its optical and microscopy technologies.

Origins in Electron Microscopy
In the early 1950s, Steigerwald was experimenting with electron microscopes and found that by increasing the beam’s power, the specimens under examination would disappear—vaporizing under the intense focus of energy. Through further experimentation, Steigerwald realized that by controlling the power of the electron beam, the specimens could be melted and fused rather than vaporized. This discovery led to the development of a powerful new welding technique, where high-energy electron beams could be focused to join materials with extraordinary precision and control. Thus, electron beam welding was born in the mid-1950s.

Early Commercialization
By 1959, Steigerwald’s work had caught the attention of companies outside Germany, particularly United Technologies Corporation (UTC), then known as United Aircraft, and its division, Hamilton Standard. A deal was made with Carl Zeiss to sell electron beam welding machines in the U.S. under the “Zeiss” brand. Hamilton Standard, seeing the potential for this new welding technology, began producing and selling electron beam welders under the “Hamilton-Zeiss” name, before ultimately transitioning to producing their own EB machines labeled as “Hamilton Standard.”

Expanding the Technology
The development of EBW didn’t stop at Hamilton Standard. The company continued to refine and expand the capabilities of electron beam welding technology. However, in 1976, Hamilton Standard sold its interest in the EBW business to Leybold-Heraeus Vacuum Systems Inc., a company that specialized in vacuum technologies. Vacuum chambers were essential for EBW because the electron beams required an evacuated space to travel without being scattered by air molecules.

Leybold-Heraeus would go on to further advance EBW technology, particularly through the development of high-vacuum, partial vacuum, and non-vacuum electron beam welding systems, tailored to the needs of different industries. These advancements allowed EBW to be used in highly specialized and diverse fields.

PTR Precision Technologies Inc. – In 1989, the electron beam welding operations were taken over by PTR Precision Technologies, a Connecticut-based company that continued the legacy of these innovations. Today, PTR remains a leader in the EBW industry, with more than 800 electron beam welding machines installed worldwide as of the latest records. This is a testament to the enduring success of EBW technology in the industrial landscape.

Applications of EBW
Electron beam welding has found applications in a wide variety of fields, especially those requiring high precision and strength. These industries include:

Nuclear: Where materials with high purity and strength are necessary.
Aerospace: Due to the extreme demands for precision and reliability in the joining of structural components.
Automotive: For high-strength joints in critical areas like engine parts and transmission components.
Medical: Where EBW is used for joining delicate components in medical devices.
Electronics: Because the focused energy of the electron beam can produce welds on micro-scale parts.
Instrumentation: For manufacturing sensitive, high-precision measuring equipment.
Commercial and Job Shops: Electron beam welding has also become widely used in various industries for producing high-quality welds with minimal distortion.

The development of electron beam welding has revolutionized the manufacturing process across these diverse industries, enabling a high degree of control and precision in joining materials that were previously difficult or impossible to weld using conventional techniques. The continuing advancements and adaptations of EBW systems have solidified its place as an indispensable tool in modern industrial applications.

For more information, contact Andrews Hi-Tec Corporation at 2447 Merced Ave., South El Monte, CA 91733;
1-626-443-1488; info@andrewsebweld.com or see http://www.AndrewsEBweld.com