Developing a desk-top electron beam micro-machining system in the low- pressure argon atmosphere

Abstract Electron beam machining (EBM) is a well-established technology for various industries. Conventional EBM systems use high-voltage for electron beam generation. The EBM could be used for various processing such as drilling, welding and surface modification by converting kinetic energy of electrons to thermal energy of the substrate. The core technology of EBM is electron beam generation. Traditionally, magnetic lens systems are used to focus the electron beam and magnetic coils are used for beam deflection. However, most EBM systems available on the market are designed for macro size work-piece machining purposes. These machines have large chambers and equipped with high power supplies. Thus causes difficulty for micro-machining on small work-pieces. Therefore, in order to perform micro-machining for tiny work-piece, a desk-top EBM system with a vacuum chamber smaller than 5 L was developed dedicated for micro machining processes. A transformer of microwave oven is used as power supply. As an electron beam source by using concave cathode, which focuses the resulting electron beam in argon ambient. Argon ambient also allows to avoid contamination during the process of machining. In order to obtain excellent results of micro machining operation on smaller work-pieces, the electron beam behavior of the desk-top EBM was investigated in this study. The experimental results show that dissimilar materials welding, small hole drilling and surface modification could be carried out by this desk-top EBM. It is expected that the desk-top EBM can be used for commercial applications especially for micro machining in near future.