Solid state repair method and means

Claim 1

A method of repairing a worn or damaged metallic article, comprising the steps of: providing a pair of mating dies, the workfaces of which are adapted to define a cavity having the precise size and shape of said article in the new and undamaged condition when said dies are in mating relationship; removing a portion of said article to create a vacant area thereon, said portion including the worn or damaged area of said article; placing said article in said dies with at least one separate incremental mass positioned in said vacant area, said mass being of the same material as said article, the volumetric content of said mass being at least equal to the volume of the void formed by said vacant area in said cavity when said dies are in mating relationship; and applying sufficient heat and pressure to said dies to cause said mass both to deform into conformity with said void and to join said article by solid-state molecular diffusion bonding therebetween.

Claim 2

A method of repairing a worn or damaged metallic article, comprising the steps of: providing a pair of mating dies, the workfaces of which are adapted to define a cavity having the precise size and shape of said article in the new and undamaged condition when said dies are in mating relationship; removing a portion of said article to create a vacant area thereon, said portion including the worn or damaged area of said article; placing said article in said dies with at least one separate incremental mass positioned in said vacant area, said mass being of the same material as said article, the volumetric content of said mass being at least equal to the volume of the void formed by said vacant area in said cavity when said dies are in mating relationship; and applying sufficient heat and pressure to said dies to cause said mass both to deform into conformity with said void and to join said article by solid-state molecular diffusion bonding therebetween.

Claim 11

The method of mass production rebuilding a plurality of worn or damaged metallic articles of identical design, comprising the steps of: forming a plurality of standardized templates having predetermined plan area dimensions; prefabricating a plurality of incremental masses corresponding in plan view with said templates; trimming said articles to remove portions therefrom, said removed portions containing said worn or damaged locations and corresponding in plan area with said templates; providing a pair of mating dies, the workfaces of which are adapted to define a cavity having the precise size and shape of said articles in the new or undamaged condition when said dies are in fully mated relationship; successively placing each of said trimmed articles between said dies with a plurality of said masses positioned in the vacant areas resulting in said articles from removal of said portions therefrom, said masses being of the same material as said articles, the volumetric content of said masses in combination being at least equal to the volume of the voids formed in said cavity due to removal of said portions when said dies contain said trimmed articles and are in fully mated relationship; surrounding said dies with an airtight retort; maintaining a vacuum within said retort; heating said retort and its contents to a temperature sufficient for solid-state molecular diffusion bonding between said incremental masses and said trimmed articles; applying sufficient pressure to said dies to compress said articles and masses therebetween in an amount sufficient to deform said masses into conformity with said cavity and to achieve said diffusion bonding; and said masses having an initial combined volumetric content from 0.01 to 10.0 percent larger than said volume of said voids in said cavity resulting from said removal of said portions.

Claim 12

The method of mass production rebuilding a plurality of worn or damaged metallic articles of identical design, comprising the steps of: forming a plurality of standardized templates having predetermined plan area dimensions; prefabricating a plurality of incremental masses corresponding in plan view with said templates; trimming said articles to remove portions therefrom, said removed portions containing said worn or damaged locations and corresponding in plan area with said templates; providing a pair of mating dies, the workfaces of which are adapted to define a cavity having the precise size and shape of said articles in the new or undamaged condition when said dies are in fully mated relationship; successively placing each of said trimmed articles between said dies with a plurality of said masses positioned in the vacant areas resulting in said articles from removal of said portions therefrom, said masses being of the same material as said articles, the volumetric content of said masses in combination being at least equal to the volume of the voids formed in said cavity due to removal of said portions when said dies contain said trimmed articles and are in fully mated relationship; surrounding said dies with an airtight retort; maintaining a vacuum within said retort; heating said retort and its contents to a temperature sufficient for solid-state molecular diffusion bonding between said incremental masses and said trimmed articles; applying sufficient pressure to said dies to compress said articles and masses therebetween in an amount sufficient to deform said masses into conformity with said cavity and to achieve said diffusion bonding; and said masses having an initial combined volumetric content from 0.01 to 10.0 percent larger than said volume of said voids in said cavity resulting from said removal of said portions.