Abstract: A piston made of an aluminum alloy has at least one piston ring groove defined by two side walls and a bottom wall. At least one preferably both side walls of the piston ring groove(s) are formed or defined by a zone, which has been hardened by an energy beam remelting process. The remelted zone may comprise alloy elements other than or more concentrated than the alloy elements comprised in the other portion of the piston, said additional alloy elements being introduced into said zone in the course of the remelting process. Each piston ring groove side wall may be formed by an individual remelted zone, or both sidewalls of a piston ring groove may be formed by the same remelted zone. The additional alloy elements may be applied in the form of a layer or a wire to the location of the surface of the piston, where subsequently a remelted zone is formed by the energy beam. The energy beam is preferably an electron beam, however, ion and laser beams may also be used.

Abstract: In a charge carrier beam machine, as an electron beam welding machine, a system for establishing the relative position of a beam impingement spot on a workpiece surface and a machine reference position, as a beam gun axis, comprises an X-ray sensor defining at least one measuring field boundary intersecting the workpiece surface at a line of intersection spaced from the gun axis. During repetitive measuring periods, the beam is deflected from the normal working position along a measuring path, which crosses the line of intersection, and a signal functionally related to the period of time the beam needs to travel from a reference position along the measuring path to the line of intersection is produced. This signal comprises the desired information about the relative position and can be used in a regulating apparatus for maintaining a desired relationship.

Abstract: In an electron beam machine for e.g. beam welding, the beam current I.sub.em is stabilized by negative feedback applied to the grid of the electron gun. The optimum cathode heating current is ascertained by causing the cathode heating current I.sub.H to decrease steadily from a maximum value. The beam current is kept constant by the feedback, which adjusts the grid voltage U.sub.W to offset the decrease in cathode temperature caused by the decreasing heating current; the rate of change of the grid voltage U.sub.W is monitored, and when this rate of change exceeds a threshold, the decrease in heating current is arrested, and the heating current is maintained at the thus established optimal value or preferably set at a slightly higher value, which secures an extended length of life of the cathode. This setting of the cathode heating current is repeated after a predetermined interval of time to establish a new value in response to a change of the condition of the cathode.

Abstract: A method of energy beam welding, as electron beam welding is disclosed, wherein the supply rate of filler material is continuously varied in accordance with the width of a gap between two workpiece parts to be welded together. Further, the specific energy input per area as well as the energy distribution along the weld seam produced are also controlled as a function of the width of the gap. The control may consist in a variation of the repetition rate of beam deflections across the gap or the variation of the amplitude of a beam deflection component parallel and/or transverse of the gap.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for producing an elongated weld seam in a workpiece by the use of a beam of charged particles, in particular an electron beam. According to the disclosed method, a beam of charged particles is directed to impinge on a workpiece and has a selected beam current, a selected accelerating voltage and is focused by a focusing field of a selected field strength. In order to produce a weld seam there is provided a relative motion between the charged particle beam and the workpiece, to move the point of impingement along the workpiece. The relative motion has a predetermined selected instantaneous velocity. The depth of penetration of the charged particle beam into the workpiece is varied by changing a parameter selected from the group consisting of the beam current and the velocity of relative motion.

Abstract: In automatic energy beam welding, as electron beam welding, of workpiece edges which form a gap of varying width along the weld line, the amount of filler material needed for making up for the volume of the gap is determined by probing the size of the solidified weld bead at a surface of the workpiece and the rate of supply of filler material to the welding zone is controlled on the basis of the result of such determination such that the size is maintained between predetermined limits.

Abstract: An assembly is formed of thin sheet metal panels, one being of undulating construction, the panels engaging each other in multiple line contact along the apexes of the undulations and the undulations affording a multiplicity of small channels extending through the assembly; the panels are then welded together by a corpuscular beam, preferably an electron beam, that effectively scans a frontal surface of the assembly, the beam being directed essentially parallel to the channels so that weld joints are formed only immediately adjacent the frontal surface.

Abstract: An account is given of a welding pool support device for energy beam welding, with a metal structure, which on a beam outlet side of a welding seam zone of a workpiece system is put against the beam outlet side and being in contact with it by a number of touching points for stopping any movement of melt out of the welding zone, which is achieved by the energy beam in the workpiece system, by a relative movement of the energy beam and the workpiece system, the former going along the weld seam zone. A supporting structure, which is able to be so changed in shape that it takes into account uneven parts of the beam outlet side of the workpiece system in the long direction and also in the cross-direction of the weld seam zone.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for the control of the filler material supply rate in energy beam welding as electron beam welding is disclosed. The width or cross-sectional area of a gap defined by opposed faces of two workpiece parts to be joined is measured by radiation, preferably X-ray radiation, and the rate with which filler material is supplied into a welding zone produced by the energy beam is controlled in proportion to the result of the measurement. The measurement may be made in advance of the welding zone and the control is then delayed by a period of time, which the welding zone takes to arrive at the position of the gap, where the measurement was made.

Abstract: In a method of welding with a beam of charged particles, outside of a mobile vacuum chamber a gap between two workpiece parts is sealed by an elongated metal foil strip, two marginal zones of which being sealingly cemented to surface portions of said workpiece parts, said marginal portions being sufficiently spaced from the gap to avoid excessive heating of the adhesive during welding a seam along said gap. The preferred material for the foil strip is copper or austenitic steel.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for seam welding by means of a charged particle beam is disclosed, wherein any misalignment of the beam with respect to the gap between opposed surfaces of two workpiece parts to be joined is compensated for by a double deflection of the beam. The position of the beam in respect to the gap is determined at two locations spaced in the direction of propagation of the beam, and the deflection in two spaced deflection zones is controlled in response to the result of such determination so that the deflected beam--which may oscillate transversely to the longitudinal direction of the gap--is aligned to the gap and a sound weld seam is produced.

Abstract: A deep penetration weld join is produced in an energy beam welding method where the energy beam, as for example, an electron beam, is directed into the join to produce a welding zone containing molten material, and moved along the join relative to the parts of the work. Additional material is introduced into the welding zone to fill a gap and/or to influence the metallurgical composition of the weld zone. By introducing the material into the melt at an acute angle to the beam axis and at a point spaced alongside the beam axis, the additive material penetrates deeply into the molten material. The additive material may be preheated prior to its introduction to the welding zone.

Abstract: In an energy beam welding method, as an electron beam welding method, wherein an elongated body or wire of filler material is introduced in a welding zone produced by the beam and comprising fused material, the filler material body is used to act on the fused material to prevent it from flowing out of the welding zone, which would cause voids and other defects of the seam produced. The method is particularly useful in welding thick workpieces as sheet metal plates with thicknesses of one to two inches and more.

Abstract: In welding a workpiece of considerable thickness with an energy beam, as an electron beam, focussed into a focal point on a beam axis, the tendency of molten material flowing out of the welding zone is eliminated or at least considerably reduced by continuously, preferably periodically, changing the focussing condition of the electron beam to shift the focus reciprocatingly along the beam axis. Preferably, the frequency of the shift of the focus along the beam axis is between 5 and 30 cycles per second, and the amplitude of the shift of the focus is at least one third of the thickness of the workpiece.

Abstract: To prevent damage to electron beam apparatus from inadvertent exposure of parts of the apparatus to the electron beam, there is provided a beam catcher which has a catcher plate that seals off the evacuated work chamber of the apparatus from a space containing gas under substantially higher pressure than normally prevailing in the work chamber. When the electron beam inadvertently impinges on the beam catcher, it is able to puncture the catcher plate, thereby permitting the gas to pass through the puncture and enter the work chamber, causing defocusing of the electron beam which prevents a progression of the puncture and also causing a pressure increase in the work chamber, resulting in further defocusing of the electron and in automatic shutoff of the accelerating potential.

Abstract: A beam splitter for electron beam machines with a beam splitter grid which is to be set crossways to the beam and which has a row of cross-pieces running next to one another with uniform spaces for shading the portions of beam striking it, where the cross-piece materials is replaceable in operation by cross-piece material not already acted on by the beam.

Abstract: A process for the energy beam perforation of multi-layered artificial leather, which has an essentially impervious top layer and a support layer which is pervious to gas, wherein perforation is carried out with the support layer turned towards the beam.

Abstract: The specification describes an energy-beam engraving method for producing depressions of different dimensions in a surface. In the method depressions with smaller and larger dimensions are produced by shorter and longer action of an energy beam with a substantially constant power. Besides the duration of action of the energy-beam on a predetermined range of the surface to be engraved simultaneously its focussing is so varied that the focus plane is closer to the surface in the case of smaller depressions than with larger depressions.

Abstract: A beam current control device in a technical corpuscular beam apparatus for welding, cutting, boring, melting, hardening and like operations, wherein a corpuscular beam emitted by a beam gun is switched between an active position in which it impinges on the work-piece and a rest position in which at least its major portion does not impinge on the work-piece, comprises means for measuring the gun emission current, means for measuring the beam current impinging on the work-piece when the beam is switched from said rest into said active position, means for forming a quotient signal corresponding to the quotient of said emission current and said beam current, means for producing a reference signal, means for deriving an error signal from said quotient and reference signals, and control means responsive to said error signal to control said emission current in a sense to minimize said error signal.

Abstract: A device for producing work-pieces, in particular foil blanks perforated by means of electron beams, for example for shoe upper parts, with an electron beam work chamber which can be evacuated, input and output appliances placed outside the work chamber for the input of unperforated work-pieces or the output of perforated work-pieces, and a transport appliance with a transport track extending between the input and output appliance and the work chamber across air locks for the controlled transport of work-piece carriers, to which the work-pieces can be applied in predetermined positions, wherein in a given work area within the work chamber a work-piece carrier which forms an element of a series of work-piece carriers lying in the transport track can be moved in at least one work track lying outside the positions of the adjacent work-pieces in the series, relative to a beam source that the work-piece can be perforated at several points by means of the beam source.