Automated system for setting the seam coordinates in electron-beam welding facilities

Several facilities for electron-beam welding have been developed and fabricated at the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. A prototype of the system designed for accurate determination of the welded seam position before the welding process and aiming of the electron beam during the welding process is described. For this purpose, the difference in scattering of electrons (and formation of secondary electrons) by the seam and by the surface of the welded workpiece is used, which allows recording the seam image by scanning with a low-current beam. A block diagram of the prototype and basic algorithms of its operation (both tested and proposed for the future) is given. Results of testing and trial operation of the first prototype of the electron-beam welding facility are considered.