The Focused Radiation Welding (FRW) Installation for Welding, Brazing, Heat-Treatment

The Focused Radiation Welding (FRW) Installation For Welding, Brazing, Heat-treatment And Other Applications. (Summary). Victor Levin, PhD., Ann Stepanov, Eng. (ANVIL Ind. Ltd.)

We have elaborated the original FRW installation, which can be used for welding and cutting of any thin metals, their brazing, soldering, preheating of edges before welding heat-treatment of welded beads, melting of sprayed layers on the surface of details. The installation can be used also for connection of plastics and polymers, glass, ceramics and for connection of their heterogeneous combinations accordingly to special technologies. Such unit has the heating source fulfilled as heating torch. It uses the focused visible light from powerful lamp, which capacity can be in limits 2-10 kWt. We have assembled the pilot sample of 2-kWt capacity. The weight of torch is 4 kg, the common weight of all installation is approximately 30 kg. The FRW unit can provide many advantages both in ordinary welding and brazing works and especially in development of special technologies directed at solving of complicated tasks during creation of new technical products. These advantages are: - the variability and wide specter of applications; - the compactness, flexibility; - the moderate price (in several times cheaper than laser welding units, with which FRW can compete successfully in many cases; - the reliability and simplicity of maintenance, ecological cleanliness. Such advantages are based at essential technological merits of FR- technology: 1. The treated zone temperature can be adjusted very exactly and kept during of all process into limits 100-20000C; 2. The size of heating spot on details surface is 1.5-2 mm. Such heating source is essentially softer than laser beam and electric arc. 3. The heating is realized by non-contact method, what opens the wide possibilities to weld and braze the small-sized details in micro-electronic and other areas, to heat and weld into chambers with controlled atmosphere throw transparent window from quartz glass. 4. There are absent any electro-magnetic fields, any boiling of a bath, pressure of steam, etc. in the melting zone. That provides very good form and smooth surface of welded bead. The FRW was tested successfully during experimental works by brazing of longitudinal joint of corrugated central tubes of special high pressure (up to 250atm) gas fuel tanks from nickel-base alloy and by soldering of micro-schemes for electronic. Now we are looking for a partner for mutual collaboration in development of these technologies and installations.

Dr.VLevin Victor Levin Eng . AStep Ann Stepanov