Fast Beam Deflection and Beam Quality-Keys to Economic High Quality Electron Beam Applications

摘要

Since its first introduction to the industry the control systems of electron beam machines have gone through an enormous evolution. With the availability of fast amplifier components and digital beam controllers the advantages of the electron beam have further increased making it a truly software controlled thermal processing tool. Modern beam controllers enable multi-beam and multi-focus technologies, where the beam is split in up to 60 individual beams. These technologies can reduce the processing time by parallel processing or improve the quality by optimized thermal expansion of the part. Multi-process technologies, where several processes are performed in one run (e.g. welding and cosmetic treatment) further extend the application range of the electron beam process. Fast beam deflection in conjunction with electron-optical monitoring is the fundamental component for advanced seam tracking systems. They allow automating the EB application in order to optimize the process costs and improve the quality of the results in a reproducible manner.Basis for a high quality of the EB process is the condition of the tool, the electron beam itself. By introducing the beam parameter product to the electron beam, reliable information about the quality of the beam can be derived. Implemented into automatic beam alignment systems repeatable results with high quality are achieved.