Compact electron beam source for electron beam welding installations with transformer transmission of power supply beam control electronics and electron guns cathode

A compact source of electron beam for electron beam welding installations with the arrangement of an electron gun, a source of high-voltage accelerating voltage of the electron gun and an electronics unit for heating the cathode and controlling the electron beam current in a single monoblock housing is presented, which uses a transformer circuit for transmitting power supply to the beam control electronics and the electron gun cathode. This arrangement of the electron beam source for electron beam welding in a single monoblock housing reduces weight and cost by reducing the amount of materials used volume, occupied production space and eliminates expensive high-voltage connectors and cables from the source design. This significantly expands the possibilities of using the presented type of electron beam sources in electron beam technologies. The purpose of the work is to show the feasibility of using a transformer circuit for transmitting power to the beam control electronics and the electron gun cathode in a compact monoblock electron beam source. A transformer circuit for transmitting power to the beam control electronics and cathode was designed and manufactured. It was tested and the following results were obtained:a cathode heating current of up to 95 A is provided; an electronic source current of up to 100 mA with an energy of 90 keV was obtained;the width of the profile of the electron beam of the source was measured at its half-height of 0.9 mm at a distance from the cut of the electron-optical column of the electron gun 550 mm.