Load Adaptability Test of High-Voltage Power Supply for Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing

In the electron beam additive manufacturing process, the load adaptability of the high-voltage power supply directly determines the quality stability of printed parts and process compatibility. Due to the dynamic changes in material melting rate and electron beam focusing position during the additive process, the power supply load often exhibits instantaneous fluctuation characteristics. Insufficient load adaptability can easily lead to increased output voltage/current ripple, resulting in problems such as poor interlayer bonding of printed parts and increased porosity.
The load adaptability test needs to construct a multi-scenario simulation system: first, set the basic load range to simulate the stable melting stage of conventional materials such as titanium alloys and superalloys, and test the output stability of the power supply in the range of 10-30kV acceleration voltage and 5-50mA beam current, requiring a ripple coefficient ≤ 0.5%; second, introduce dynamic load disturbances, simulate the sudden change of material feeding speed (±20%) and load changes during electron gun scanning path switching through a programmable load, and record the power supply response time, which should be controlled within 50μs; finally, for extreme load conditions, such as low-load maintenance during thin-walled part printing and high-load continuous output during large-size component printing, verify the parameter drift of the power supply during 8 hours of continuous operation, and the voltage drift should be ≤ ±0.1%.
The application value of test data is reflected in two aspects: one is to provide a basis for the optimization of power supply control algorithms, adjust the PID adjustment coefficients by analyzing the correlation between load fluctuations and output parameters, and improve the anti-disturbance ability; the other is to establish a matching model between load adaptability and printing processes, clarify the power supply load adaptation range corresponding to different materials and component types, and provide references for the setting of process parameters of additive equipment.