A swelling element packer is made with internal rings that are either split or scrolled. After the swelling element is built on a temporary mandrel a longitudinal seam of a variety of designs is cut through the element. This allows the rapid deployment of the element on the tubular that will be a part of a string and will serve as the final mandrel. The assembly is then magnetic pulse welded or crimped so as to urge the open ends of the rings to move toward each other and become secured to each other and further opening the possibility of attaching parts on the ring itself to the underlying tubular by displacing or otherwise removing the swelling material that was between the ring and the final mandrel when the magnetic pulse process began. The rings can be embedded wholly within the element or can extend beyond the opposed ends or combinations of the two.