Vacuum Chamber Welding

• How to properly shield stainless TIG welds

• Weldability and composition of different stainless alloys

• Vacuum chamber considerations for design and assembly

A friend of mine who was working on a research project designing ion thrusters asked me if I could help him fabricate a vacuum chamber in which he would test the thruster.  I jumped at the opportunity to do some TIG welding and machining of 303 as I love working on welding projects especially when the requirements are demanding.  What I ended up helping to fabricate were the two end plates that then would go onto a fanged pipe to make the chamber.  The welding consisted of attaching a number of different flange fittings onto the plates for wiring to pass thorough, inert gas addition, and pulling the vacuum.