ELECTRON BEAM

MEM 561
ASSIGNMENT 2

EM2415A1
MUHAMMAD ASMUNIR BIN YUSRI AZAM
2014820662
MEGAT AMIRUL AZRIN BN MEGAT ZULKAFLI
2014222852

Introduction & Application

Electron-beam machining (EBM) is a process where high-velocity

electrons concentrated into a narrow beam are directed toward the work
piece, creating heat and vaporizing the material. EBM can be used for
very accurate cutting or boring of a wide variety of metals. Surface finish
is better and kerf width is narrower than those for other thermal cutting
processes.

Application

Drilling: In drilling holes, the electron beam focuses on one spot and
evaporates material until it has completely penetrated the workpiece or is
switched of after

a specified hole depth has been reached. Hole

diameter depends on beam diameter and energy density. If holes larger

than the beam diameter are required, the

electron beam is deflected

electromagnetically in a circular path of required diameter. Varying the

amplitude of the voltage generator connected to the

electromagnetic

deflection system can change the diameter of the circular beam path. If
extremely large holes are required, the workpiece can be moved of
center and rotated.

In general, holes less than 0.13 mm in diameter can be drilled almost

instantaneously in thickness up to 1.25 mm in any material. Hole
diameters larger than

0.13 mm can be drilled by deflecting or rotating

the electron beam.

Circular holes are producable with electron beam drilling techniques.
Hole diameters are usually between 0.03 mm and 1.02 mm. Noncircular
holes can also be

drilled using EBM. A multipulse technique is

employed. Modern EB machines feature computer control of beam

deflection coupled with CNC of workpiece

motion. To machine

noncircular holes, the control systems are used to move the workpiece
and deflect the beam analog a predetermined hole contour.
Perforation: Electron beam machining is used widely to perforate
many materials including heat-resistant superalloys, plastics, and textiles.
An important advantage of EB perforation is processs ability to drill
relatively small holes in thick materials. The process is normally employed
to produce holes

with depth-to-diameter ratios of about 10:1. This

capability is employed efectively in the drilling of small holes on the

trailing edges of turbine blades, for example.
Inclined holes are another advantage of EB perforation. The angle at
which an electron beam can be directed at the workpiece is usually
between 20- 90. This

capability allows the application of EB perforation

to turbine blades, combustion chamber rings, mixer plates, and other gas
turbine parts.
Milling: Applications in which EBM is employed to mill small profileshaped holes of less than 160 mm2. The workpiece is held stationary while
the electron

beam is programmed to cut the pattern.

Working principal

The EBM beam is operated in pulse mode. This is achieved by

appropriately biasing the biased grid located just after the cathode.
Switching pulses are given to the bias grid so as to achieve pulse duration
of as low as 50 s to as long as 15 ms. Beam current is directly related to
the number of electrons emitted by the cathode or available in the beam.
Beam current once again can be as low as 200 amp to 1 amp. Increasing
the beam current directly increases the energy per pulse. Similarly
increase in pulse duration also enhances energy per pulse. High-energy
pulses (in excess of 100 J/pulse) can machine larger holes on thicker
plates. The energy density and power density is governed by energy per
pulse duration and spot size. Spot size, on the other hand is controlled by
the degree of focusing achieved by the electromagnetic lenses. A higher
energy density, i.e., for a lower spot size, the material removal would be
faster though the size of the hole would be smaller. The plane of focusing
would be on the surface of the work piece or just below the surface of the
work piece.

Process parameter

Power: EBM operations are performed at voltage ranging from 50-150

kV. The beam current is usually between 0.1-1.0 mA. Power requirements
are on the order
of 0.5-60 kW. Beam intensity ranges between
5
1.55x10 to 1.55x109 W/cm 2. Electron bean equipment is employed in a
wide variety of production applications.
By varying the power density,
many diferent jobs can be performed using EB techniques.
Cut characteristics: The narrowest cut attainable with EBM operations is
on the order of 0.03 mm when cutting material of 0.03 mm thickness. The
maximum
depth of cut is usually about 6 mm.

 Material removal: Material removal rates are a function of the power

applied and workpiece material. Generally, penetration rates up to 0.25
mm/s have been achieved.

MRR in EBM:
Q = area of slot or hole * speed of cutting = A*V
Where power for Q MRR is P = C.Q
Where,
C = Specific power consumption
Thermal velocity acquired by an electron of the work material due to EB is

Where, Kb = Boltzmann constant

M = mass of one atom of work.
T = rise in temperature

Tolerances: Electron beam machining is capable of holding tolerances

on hole size to about 0.03 mm, although in special cases, tolerances
of 0.005 mm can
be held.
Surface characteristics: The heat-afected zone developed by EBM is
generally less than 0.25 mm deep. The heat-afected zone consists of a
thin layer of
recast material, which may diminish the structural integrity
of workpieces, which are highly stressed. Surface roughness is usually
about 1.02 m m Ra,
although surface roughness as low as 0.13 m m Ra
has been achieved.

Advantage

Very small size holes can be produced.

Surface finish produced is good.
Highly reactive metals like Al and Mg can be machined very easily.

Disadvantage and limitation

Material removal rate is very low compared to other convectional

machining processes.
Maintaining perfect vacuum is very difficult.
The machining process cant be seen by operator.
Workpiece material should be electrically conducting.

Summary

We can sum that the Electron Beam Machining (EBM) is a

process that can make a small part of product flying colour as it can
produce very small holes. Furthermore, it has a very good surface
finish. Moreover, this type of machining is very good when making
product such as engine block because of it is highly reactive metals
like Al and Mg can be machined very easily.
Also take note that this type of machining have very low
material removal rate compared to other convectional machining
processes. Moreover, to maintain the perfect vacuum is very hard
due to get a perfect product without defects. Talking about defects,
the machining process cannot be seen by operator so we can tell the
process is doing okay or not as it is inside the closed machine.

Reference

http://www.eod.gvsu.edu/eod/manufact/manufact-284.html
Kalpakjian, Serope; Schmid, Steven. (2006). Manufacturing
Engineering and Technology (2nd ed.). Pearson Prentice Hall.

pp. 854855.
Crawford, C., 1962, Introduction to Electron Beam Technology, John

Wiley & Sons, New York.

Grote, K., Antonsson, E., 2009, Handbook of Mechanical Engineering,

10th edn, Pringer, Berlin.

McGeough, J.A., 1988, Advanced Methods of Machining , Chapman

and Hall, London

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_beam_machining
Process, International Journal of Multidisciplinary Sciences and Engi
neering, vol. 2, no. 6, pp 51-56, viewed 29 December 2012.
http://www.ijmse.org/Volume2/Issue6/paper10.pdf
Journal of Materials Processing Technology, Volume 149, Issues 13,
10 June 2004, Pages 217, 14th Interntaional Symposium on
Electromachining (ISEM XIV)
Journal of Materials Processing Technology, Volume 37, Issues 14,
February 1993, Pages 801-816