REDUCED PRESURE ELECTRON BEAM WELDING
RPEBW is typically achieved at pressures from 10-1 to 10 mbar and offers the following:
- Thick section capability in a single pass
- Far less constraints compared with normal high vacuum EB welding
- High process tolerance
- Robust system with high reliability
- Local application of vacuum can be very cost effective
- Many applications and materials
- Can be fully automated
CVE has manufactured a Local Vacuum Reduced Pressure Electron Beam Welding System.
During 2008 CVE manufactured the first local vacuum reduced pressure electron beam welding system for TWI - North, the Low Carbon Energy - Manufacturing Technology Centre in Middlesbrough. The facility allows welding of structures too large to fit into a work chamber, and is specifically aimed at welding of marine foundations for the growing deployment of offshore wind turbines. RPEB can be used to weld steel of up to 200mm thick, and offers unrivalled joining speeds - required for high productivity. A key feature of the equipment is that it works without a vacuum chamber - instead the RPEB welding gun seals onto the component and slides along the joint line, allowing the gun to be taken to the structure. The facility is currently being used to examine weldability of offshore turbine foundations within a Technology Strategy Board collaborative project, and is being investigated for a number of power industry applications for clients.
