CVE are exhibiting at Coiltech Deutschland 2023 in Augsburg, Germany. You can find CVE’s stand in Halle 2, stand number B34, where Sales Manager, Chris Coaster, and Consultant, Nick Edge, will be pleased to discuss CVE’s electron beam welding machines for the fabrication of EV powertrain components.

CVE’s Development Engineering Manager, Alex O’Farrell, will be presenting at the conference on Wednesday 29th March 2023 at 11:00 in Halle 3. Alex will present under the Manufacturing Technologies Session, chaired by G. Fabri, from University of L’Aquila, and the title of his presentation is “High Quality Welding of Stator Hairpins and Copper Conductors”.

Coiltech is an international coil winding exhibition and conference, which will take place in Augsburg, Germany, between Wednesday 29th and Thursday 30th March 2023.

The exhibition covers the following key areas:

• Materials, machines and techniques for the development, manufacture and maintenance of electric motors, transformers and generators
• Power distribution and industrial transformers
• Drive solutions for electromobility
• Coils in general

Find Out More:

• Evflow – Electron Beam Welding Machine for EV Components
• Electrification Industry
• CVE Win Faraday Challenge Funding 
• Welding Electrical Conductors for Electric Vehicles
• Electron Beam Welding of Busbars
• An Introduction to Electron Beam Welding
• Laser Welding vs Electron Beam Welding

This week, CVE are at the 23rd Technical Sessions on Welding and Joining Technologies, in Irun, San Sebastian, Spain. Running between the 7th and 9th March 2023, the conference serves as a meeting point for the exchange of knowledge among experts in the welding sector, as well as to update and contrast the opinions of the speakers and attendees. It also represents an opportunity for the dissemination of technical knowledge, offering a means for the development of new technologies in the field of joining technologies.

The session is organised by CESOL, the Spanish Association of Welding and Joining Technologies, an independent and non-profit association of people and companies at the service of welding and other joining technologies. CESOL was created in 1993, and is the result of the merger of ADESOL, the Spanish Association for the Development of Welding, created in 1977, and CES, the Spanish Centre for Welding and Joining Technologies, created in 1988.

CVE’s Development Engineering Manager, Alex O’Farrell, presented on the 7th March at the 1st Technical Session on Welding. His presentation was titled “Electron Beam Welding of Copper Electrical Conductors for Electric Vehicles.”

The main objective of the session is to disseminate the know-how of the latest achievements in the field of joining, coating, additive manufacturing and related processes like structural integrity, inspection, quality and environmental management.

The conference will offer welding professionals, their employers, scientists, fabricators and welding-products suppliers the best framework to exchange ideas and information, share knowledge resources, an establish a dialogue intended to open new research directions and to join together in partnerships for new projects development. This 23rd Sessions can be an opportunity to advance in the welding profession, its products and its practices and to continue driving the welding industry forward.

The topics covered include:

• New technologies in welding and cladding processes and their applications
• Materials joining processes
• New inspection techniques
• Mechanical behaviour of welded joints (fracture mechanical test, distortion and residual stresses)
• Design and modelling processes of welded joints
• Weldability of new materials
• Adhesive bonding and structural applications
• Characterization of materials
• Corrosion
• Additive manufacturing
• Welding automation
• Failure analysis
• Health and safety (occupational exposures, welding fumes)
• Developments in personnel certification and welding codes

The following industries are also represented:

• Aerospace
• Defence
• Inspection
• Transport
• Battery and electronics
• Energy and chemical
• Power generation and advanced energy
• Heavy manufacturing
• Steelmakers
• Medical
• Regulatory

For more information about Alex’s presentation please email sales@camvaceng.com.

Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE) has received funding from Innovate UK under the Faraday Battery Challenge.

A partnership between Innovate UK, UK Battery Industrialisation Centre, and The Faraday Institution, has be constructed to create a challenge that supports the research and development of the most promising, innovative, and sustainable battery technologies for the propulsion of electric vehicles in the automotive sector.

The result is £27.6 million in funding being invested across 17 research and innovation projects and facilities that will drive the growth of a strong battery business in the UK.

CVE’s proposal, EB-Bat, in collaboration with Delta Cosworth and TWI, will use the funding to design, build and test an electron beam (EB) welding machine that can weld battery busbar components.

Electron beam welding is potentially 20 times faster than laser welding. You can deflect and refocus electron beams much faster than laser beams, as this is achieved using magnetic fields, without moving parts as the welds are made. Plus, EBs do not suffer from reflectivity from copper and aluminium, making more consistent and reliable welds.

The EB-Bat project will provide a compelling demonstration of the process performance, productivity, quality, and economics to the automotive manufacturing sector with an aim to secure funding to take it into production.

Other benefits of welding battery busbars using electron beam over current laser welding methods include:

• Energy savings
• Smaller factory footprint
• A reduction in scrap
• Welding fume control

The project partners combine a wealth of experience in the automotive industry, with Delta Cosworth, electric vehicle specialists developing innovative battery solutions and part of the wider Cosworth Group; and TWI as a world-leading welding and materials development organisation. CVE, the lead partner in the project, are designers and manufacturers of electron beam and laser welding machines for many applications, including turbochargers.

Simon Dowson, Managing Director at Delta Cosworth, commented:

“Developing and manufacturing batteries is one of our core capabilities at Delta Cosworth. We have already made leaps and bounds in delivering flexible battery solutions, our Cylindrical Scalable Modules being at the centre of our battery offering. Creating, more efficient and reliable ways to manufacture our batteries like electron welding will aid us in maximising our battery technology’s potential and give us the possibility to transfer new manufacturing techniques across the wider Cosworth group.” 

Tony Harper, Challenge Director for the Faraday Battery Challenge, said:

“As we move towards a net zero future the UK’s electric vehicle industry must continue to evolve. These winning projects have all shown how their ideas can potentially accelerate the development of technologies or business practices in the UK. I look forward to seeing how their innovations help to significantly advance the performance characteristics of batteries for electric vehicles.​”

Find out more about the funding in the UK’s Research and Innovation’s announcement: Delivering the Future of Battery Technology.

CVE featured in The Welding Institute’s Winter 2022 edition of the Welding and Joining Matters journal.

Launched in Spring 2022, the committee of Welding and Joining Matters is formed of professional members of The Welding Institute. It is a lively and easily read journal covering all aspects of welding, joining, and fabrication as well as inspection and structural performance of all classes of materials and welded products.

It has articles of interest for all personnel working in these industries, from practitioners and technicians on the shop floor, to inspectors, welding coordinators, welding engineers, incorporated and chartered engineers as well as managers, researchers, and designers of fabricated equipment and structures.

The journal is available as electronic and hard copy publication, which is published four times a year.

Authored by Chris Punshon, CVE’s Head of New Energy Applications, you can read CVE’s featured article below or download it as a PDF.

Find out more about the journal on The Welding Institute’s website.

CVE exhibited at Fabtech 2022 from the 8th of November to the 10th of November, in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

FABTECH is North America’s largest metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing event. It provides a convenient ‘one-stop shop’ venue where you can meet with world-class suppliers, see the latest industry products and developments, find the tools to improve productivity, and increase profits. They strongly believe in the power of in-person events to discover, educate, and motivate the metal fabrication industry.

Tony Slater, Technical Sales Manager, and Steve Horrex, Sales Director, were at Booth C13212 exhibiting our product lines:

• Electron beam welding (EBW) machines – high and low voltage
• Laser beam welding (LBW) machines – conventional with a shielding gas, or in a vacuum
• Ebflow – welding with electron beams and a local vacuum, ideal for thick-section/large components
• Ebflow Light – welding with a laser and a local vacuum
• Surface modification using an electron beam

The show encompassed three halls at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Attendees will found a variety of technology pavilions dedicated to Forming & Fabricating, Tube & Pipe, METALFORM, Welding, Finishing, 3D/Additive Manufacturing and Robotics & Industrial Automation. Featured technologies included:

For more information, please visit the organiser’s website.

CVE attended the 75th International Institute of Welding (IIW) Annual Assembly and Conference, 17th-22nd July 2022, in Tokyo, Japan.

The Japan Institute of Welding, The Japan Welding Society, and The Japan Welding Engineering Society hosted the event, with support from the Tokyo Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The theme was innovative welding and joining technologies to achieve carbon neutrality and promote sustainable development.

The conference covered a range of other topics, including:

• Additive manufacturing technology and efficient engineering
• Artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation (DX)
• Hydrogen (including fuel ammonia), renewable and nuclear energy, electrification
• New materials
• Future technologies
• Other fundamentals

CVE colleagues Chris Punshon, Head of New Energy Applications, Alex O’Farrell, Development Engineering Manager, and Max Nentwich, Head Laser Development Engineer, presented papers at the conference, with topics spanning local vacuum power beam welding, copper welding for electric vehicles, and laser welding in a vacuum.

The details of the papers are as follows:

• Doc.IV-1507-2022 Local Vacuum Electron Beam and Laser Solutions in New Energy Applications – New Developments and Regulatory Position, Chris Punshon, et al.
• Doc.IV-1506-2022 Removing The Bottleneck In Welding Of Electrical Conductors for Electric Vehicles, Alex O’Farrell, et al.
• Doc.IV-1508-2022 Interaction of Protective Gas with Process Emissions in Vacuum Laser Welding, Max Nentwich, et al.

Chris is the UK delegate for IIW Commission IV (Power Beam Processes) and acted as a session chair for Commission IV. He also presented on local vacuum electron beam welding.

His paper was titled the Local Vacuum Electron Beam and Laser Solutions in New Energy Applications – New Developments and Regulatory Position.

This follows a series of development projects using CVE’s local vacuum technology, Ebflow, including welding of 200mm thick steel, pressure vessel manufacture, pilot at Dogger Bank wind farm, and wind tower manufacturing.

Max Nentwich, working as part of a knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) between Cambridge Vacuum Engineering and Cranfield University, presented a paper on the Interaction of Protective Gas with Process Emissions in Vacuum Laser Welding.

Alex’s paper, titled Removing the Bottleneck in Welding of Electrical Conductors for Electric Vehicles, focused on how the industry can increase the rate of joining electrically conducting components and the criticality of this to improving electric vehicle manufacturing.

The CVE team then attended the adjacently-running Japan International Welding Show at Tokyo International Exhibition Centre.

If you are interested in the above topics, please get in touch by emailing sales@camvaceng.com.

CVE are exhibiting at Battery Show North America, in Novi, Michigan, 13-15 September 2022.

You can find us at stand 2345.

CVE colleagues Tony Slater, Technical Sales Manager, Nick Edge, Consultant, and Ellen Cormack, Marketing Manager, would like to talk to visitors about manufacturing electric vehicle (EV) powertrain components, including batteries, motor stators and hairpins, inverters, and shunt resistors.

CVE is delighted to announce that our Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) associate, Max Nentwich, is a finalist in the Innovate UK KTP Awards 2022.

KTPs, organised by Innovate UK KTN, connect businesses with academia to deliver innovation projects led by graduates.

The projects focus on some of the world’s most pressing problems, and the programme accelerates these ambitious ideas into real-world, commercial solutions. It does this through connecting businesses with new partners, ideas, or academia.

The KTP Awards celebrate the most creative, effective, and interesting people and projects out of around 800 KTPs that are active right now.

Max is a finalist for the Future Leader Award. This award is for associates who have shown exceptional skills, above and beyond the normal expectations of a KTP Associate, in driving and delivering innovation strategy, demonstrating great teamwork, and outstanding leadership potential.

Max’s work with CVE in includes an innovative laser in vacuum window protection solution and is in partnership with Cranfield University.

There are an additional six awards available:

• Best Knowledge Transfer Partnership
• Technical Excellence Award
• The Changing the World Award
• Business Impact and Transformation
• KTP Academic of the Year Award
• Best Knowledge Base KTP Support Team Award

The ceremony will take place on Wednesday 12th October, in-person and online. You can register your attendance via Innovate UK’s website.

CVE has entered the 2022 Cambridge Dragon Boat Festival. The event will take place on Saturday 10^th September and is held annually in aid of Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT).

Dragon boat racing is the fastest growing water activity, with up to 10 people paddling a 30’ boat, with an additional drummer at the front. The race will take place on a 200m stretch down the River Cam at Fen Ditton. This year more than 40 teams are expected to compete.

View the complete crew list (accurate as of 23rd June 2022).

The Festival promises an exciting day out for all the family and there will be a wide range of bankside activities and food stalls for everyone to enjoy. The Festival is free to spectators.

There are awards for the top three crews, the best-placed mixed crew (minimum 5 ladies), the crew raising the most money for ACT, and the ‘best dressed’ crew.

As part of the entry, CVE is raising money for ACT. ACT’s mission is to ensure that every patient at Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie hospitals experiences the highest quality of care available. They raise funds for cutting-edge technology, additional specialist staff and extra comforts for patients, over and above what is possible with NHS funding alone.

“Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT) is excited to be the official charity sponsor for the Cambridge Dragon Boat Race once again this year. We would love people to sign up for what promises to be a great day full of fun, friendly competition and team rivalry. We’re so grateful that the festival will be raising funds to support ACT this year, helping to make Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie hospitals even better for patients, their families and staff.” – Emma Bray, Corporate Fundraiser

We welcome any donations to our Just Giving page, where you can also follow updates from the CVE team!

CVE supplied a 150 kV electron beam welding machine to the Łukasiewicz Instytut Spawalnictwa (Polish Welding Institute) in Gliwice.

Established in 1945, Instytut Spawalnictwa is Poland’s leading welding research and development organisation. In its long-standing activity, Instytut Spawalnictwa has solved problems in welding technology, coordinated numerous R&D projects and strengthened close links with the Polish industry and foreign centres. Instytut Spawalnictwa is the only organisation of its type in Poland and has the status of Centre of Excellence.

Instytut Spawalnictwa has a CVE electron beam (EB) welding machine in their electron beam welding laboratory.

The machine has the following features:

• Working chamber (volume 4.95 m3)
  • Width – 1500 mm
  • Height – 1500 mm
  • Length – 2200 mm (it is possible to extend the chamber)
• Directly-heated cathode system, maximum beam power of 30 kW
• Accelerating high voltage up to 150 kV
• Beam current up to 200 mA
• Three vertical EB generators positioned on the chamber roof
• Three viewing windows on the front side and one on the right side

The machine is equipped with:

• A quality management system for logging welding parameters, including the temperature of the elements
• Rapid beam deflection system enabling surface and heat treatment, multibeam welding including automatic seam tracking, and back scattered electron imaging
• Light optical monitoring system with camera
• Electron optical monitoring, back scattered electrons and advanced digital image processing
• Wire feed unit
• Beam assure system
• CNC controlled XY table
• CNC controlled rotary/tilt table with a tailstock
• Two independent vacuum controllers
• Portable helium leak detector with accessories
• Demagnetising devices for mobile use

The EB machine allows the development of the following technologies:

• Welding with and without filler metal
• Brazing
• Cladding
• Alloying
• Local heat treatment
• Rapid prototyping with wire
• Texturizing
• Engraving

Video courtesy of Łukasiewicz Instytut Spawalnictwa.

Instytut Spawalnictwa can help you determine the usability of electron beam technology for processing defined elements, developing electron beam technologies and manufacturing test runs in various components.

Find out more about the electron beam welding laboratory on their website.

If you are interested in adding electron beam welding to your Institute’s facilities, please get in touch.