The use of non-vacuum electron beam (NVEB) technology as an universal manufacturing process for welding and cutting of high-strength steels

Abstract

This publication presents the advantages of NVEB technology as an universal tool for material processing based on our investigations on welding and cutting of high-strength S960QL, S1100 and S1300 steels. In this work, the effect of welding cooling time t8/5 on the microstructure of the heat-affected zone (HAZ) and mechanical properties of the joints were investigated. The new process NVEB-cutting with a local suction produces extremely high cutting speeds, up to 17 m/min with high quality edges, render this method a significant development for new NVEB-applications. To demonstrate the capabilities of the non-vacuum electron beam as a universal tool for the technological process chain, the samples of steel S1100QL were made, while cutting and welding was carried out by one machine basement. The experimental results will be shown and discussed.