Project Title:

High-Brightness High-Energy Electron-Beam Welder

Genesis Research
631 Sylvan Court
Batavia, Illinois 60510

93-1-04     14   1112

High-Brightness High-Energy Electron-Beam Welder

Abstract:

A novel electron-beam welder will be developed that greatly
extends the practical range of beam energy and beam brightness of
industrial electron beam welders. The welder is compact,
relatively simple, and inherently safe from high-voltage hazards.
Our proposed welder will permit greater control of welds both in
vacuum and at atmospheric pressure with little thermal distortion
of welded parts. The result for NASA programs will be improved
aerospace components and assemblies. Revolutionary improvements
in atmospheric electron beam welding, made possible by our
proposed device, will greatly extend the size and range of
objects that can be welded with electron beams. A novel electron
source, at the heart of the innovation, will be tested during the
Phase I program. An accelerator will be added to the electron
source during Phase II to complete construction of a prototype
welder.

Widespread commercial applications exist in nearly every industry
which fabricates parts out of metal or other weldable materials.
Some of the more prominent industries of this type include
automotive, aircraft, shipbuilding, and general machinery
industries. Innumerable consumer products industries would also
have uses for our proposed device, utilizing its capacity for
atmospheric welding in high-speed mass-production. 

Welding, Electron Beam, Electron Sources