High Energy Metals, Inc. (HEMI) specializes in explosive welding which uses the forces of controlled detonations to accelerate one metal plate into another creating an atomic bond. This metalworking technique is used to join dissimilar metals into a highquality joint which has high mechanical strength, is ultrahigh vacuum tight, and can withstand drastic thermal excursions. Explosive welding can introduce thin, diffusion inhibiting interlayers such as tantalum and titanium, which allow conventional weldup installation. Also, explosive welding is considered a cold welding process, which allows metals to be joined without losing their prebonded properties.