Electron beam welding

Abstract Electron beam welding is a joining process used since the late 50s. It is being applied in many, especially challenging fields of application such as erospace technology and the nuclear sector. As a beam welding process, it has the ability to produce narrow and deep seams in all electrically conductive technical alloys because of its high energy intensities in the beam focus. In this chapter, the current state of research in the field of electron beam technology will be presented, primarily divided into three research fields: material-related, simulation-related and process-related research. Due to the large number of material-related publications which consider the electron beam primarily as a tool for solving other problems, only some are mentioned. The simulation-related publications deal with the transmissivity of the vapor channel, the dynamics of the vapor capillary or the prediction of residual stresses in the component. Process-related publications deal with a variety of questions, such as process diagnostics, possibilities of beam measurement or constant beam quality. The development of a plasma cathode offers the possibility to replace the thermionic cathodes and to compensate the effects caused by them. In the field of additive manufacturing there are different developments, for example manufacturing from the powder bed or wire direct deposition which is more similar to electron beam welding. At this point, we will limit ourselves to the latter.