Method of manufacturing an article by diffusion bonding and superplastic forming
First Claim
1. A method of manufacturing an article of predetermined finished profile by diffusion bonding and superplastic forming at least two metal workpieces and two metal blocks comprising the steps of:
- (a) forming at least two metal workpieces, each metal workpiece has at least one surface,(b) forming two metal blocks,(c) arranging each metal block adjacent to an end of the at least one surface of a respective one of the at least two metal workpieces,(d) applying heat and pressure across the thickness of each metal block and the respective one of the at least two metal workpieces to diffusion bond the metal block and the respective one of the at least two metal workpieces together to form two integral metal preforms,(e) applying heat and forming the two integral metal preforms such that metal block and the end of the metal workpiece of each integral metal preform are formed such that a continuation of the remainder of the at least one surface of the respective metal workpiece extends through and across the metal block,(f) machining the metal block of each integral metal preform such that the new surface of the metal block is aligned with the remainder of the at least one surface of the respective metal workpiece,(g) applying a stop off material to prevent diffusion bonding to preselected areas of at least one of the surfaces of at least one of the at least two metal workpieces of the two integral metal preforms,(h) assembling the at least two integral metal preforms into a stack relative to each other so that the metal blocks are between the metal workpieces and the surfaces of the at least two metal workpieces and the two metal blocks are in mating abutment,(i) applying heat and pressure across the thickness of the at least two integral metal preforms to diffusion bond the at least two integral metal preforms together in areas other than the preselected areas to form an integral structure with a region of increased thickness,(j) heating the integral structure and internally pressurising the integral structure to cause the preselected area of at least one of the metal workpieces to be hot formed to produce a hollow article of predetermined shape.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Two metal blocks (50, 52) are welded to respective metal sheets (30, 32) to form sealed assemblies. The sealed assemblies are then diffusion bonded together to form two metal preforms (54, 56). The thick ends (36) and (40) of the metal sheets (30, 32) and the metal blocks (50, 52) are hot formed so that a continuation of the plane X of the first surfaces (42, 46) of the metal sheets (30, 32) extends through and across the metal blocks (50, 52). The metal preforms (54, 56) are machined to remove the portion of the metal blocks (50, 52) extending above the first surfaces (42, 46) of the metal sheets (30, 32) respectively. The metal preforms (54, 56) and a metal sheet (58) are assembled into a stack (64). The metal preforms (54, 56) and the metal sheet (58) are diffusion bonded together and then superplastically formed to produce a hollow fan blade (10). The method enables thinner metal workpieces with better microstructure to be used and increases the yield of metal workpieces.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method of manufacturing an article of predetermined finished profile by diffusion bonding and superplastic forming at least two metal workpieces and two metal blocks comprising the steps of:
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(a) forming at least two metal workpieces, each metal workpiece has at least one surface, (b) forming two metal blocks, (c) arranging each metal block adjacent to an end of the at least one surface of a respective one of the at least two metal workpieces, (d) applying heat and pressure across the thickness of each metal block and the respective one of the at least two metal workpieces to diffusion bond the metal block and the respective one of the at least two metal workpieces together to form two integral metal preforms, (e) applying heat and forming the two integral metal preforms such that metal block and the end of the metal workpiece of each integral metal preform are formed such that a continuation of the remainder of the at least one surface of the respective metal workpiece extends through and across the metal block, (f) machining the metal block of each integral metal preform such that the new surface of the metal block is aligned with the remainder of the at least one surface of the respective metal workpiece, (g) applying a stop off material to prevent diffusion bonding to preselected areas of at least one of the surfaces of at least one of the at least two metal workpieces of the two integral metal preforms, (h) assembling the at least two integral metal preforms into a stack relative to each other so that the metal blocks are between the metal workpieces and the surfaces of the at least two metal workpieces and the two metal blocks are in mating abutment, (i) applying heat and pressure across the thickness of the at least two integral metal preforms to diffusion bond the at least two integral metal preforms together in areas other than the preselected areas to form an integral structure with a region of increased thickness, (j) heating the integral structure and internally pressurising the integral structure to cause the preselected area of at least one of the metal workpieces to be hot formed to produce a hollow article of predetermined shape. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification