Fusion welding bellows

Micro Tig and Plasma

An Edge Welded Bellows is manufactured by welding a series of diaphragms together using a highly controlled and very precise Micro TIG or Plasma welding process.
No material is added during the fusion process and the resultant welds beads have a bright appearance of very uniform shape.
By measuring the shape, or geometry, of the welds we quality and test the consistency of this specialised welding process.

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Diaphragms

Nested diaphragms are used to produce convolutions. These are welded into the bellows.

The diaphragms are often described as "crinkly washers" but are in fact precision pressed components having inside and outside diameters with a rippled profile formed in the surface.
Usually very thin materials are used in the production of the diaphragms, typically 0.05 mm to 0.25 mm thick in Stainless Steel, but often in more exotic alloys like Monel, Hastelloy, Inconel, Titanium etc.
It is usual to have a so-called Male and Female  form to the diaphragms ensuring the bellows fully nests without the diaphragms interfering.

The production process

From the pressed diaphragms to convolutions to the finished artilcle

The solid length of a welded bellows is not much more than the total thickness of all the diaphragms used plus a small design allowance.The Male and Female diaphragms are first welded together at their inside diameters to form a welded pair or convolution. The convolutions are then welded together at their outside diameters to form the Bellows. By leak checking the finished Bellows on a Mass Spectrometer and taking weld measurements during production it is possible to produce a bellows with high integrity welds equal to the most demanding applications.