Metallurgical bonding and forming processes and apparatus

Claim 2

The method of claim 1, wherein at least two of the members to be joined are made of dissimilar materials, whereby a composite unitary structure is produced.

Claim 3

The method of claim 1, together with the step of disposing a foil of a dissimilar metallic material between the members to be joined to improve the character of the bond therebetween.

Claim 4

The method of claim 1, together with the step of coating at least one of the members to be joined with a metallic material to improve the character of the bond between said members.

Claim 5

The method of claim 1, together with the steps of confining the members being joined between tooling components located on opposite sides of the members and generally between said electrode and said supporting means to maintain said members in said abutting relationship and the step of disposing foil between said members and said tooling components to prevent reactions between said members and said components.

Claim 6

The method of claim 1, wherein the members being joined are composed of materials having the same or similar chemical compositions.

Claim 7

The method of claim 1, wherein the members being joIned are fabricated from materials selected from the group consisting of superalloys and titanium, nickel, beryllium, and their alloys.

Claim 8

The method of claim 1, wherein the rotatable electrode is composed of molybdenum or a molybdenum-based alloy.

Claim 9

A dynamic diffusion bonding-type method of joining two or more members composed of titanium alloy into a unitary structure by forming a continuous bond therebetween, comprising the steps of: a. maintaining the members to be joined in abutting relationship between a supporting means and a rotatable electrode, to provide a faying surface therebetween, said electrode and said supporting means being located on opposite sides of the faying surface between the members being joined; b. exerting a localized pressure on successive increments of said members by biasing said electrode toward the member contacted thereby and concomitantly effecting relative movement between the members and the rotatable electrode; c. simultaneously with the exertion of said localized pressure, locally heating the portions of the members on which the pressure is exerted in a manner such that the temperature in the regions of the members in and contiguous to that in which the bond is formed will not exceed about 2,300* F. by passing an electrical current from said electrode through the members being joined to the supporting means; and d. so regulating the current density through the members being joined as to maintain the maximum temperature of each of said members below the melting point of the alloy of which said member is composed and thereby prevent melting of the members but high enough to exceed the yield stress of the alloy from which each said member is fabricated at the pressure exerted by the electrode in a region contiguous to the faying surface and opposite the line of contact between the electrode and the member contacted thereby to thereby produce sufficient localized plastic flow of each of the members being joined to insure essentially complete metal-to-metal contact between said members along said faying surface and thereby permit a diffusion of atoms of the alloys of which said members are composed across said faying surface which will produce a continuous bond between said members.

Claim 10

A dynamic diffusion bonding type method of joining two or more metallic members into a unitary structure by forming a continuous bond therebetween in which at least one of the members to be joined has opposed edge portions and in which the distance between said opposed portions varies longitudinally of the member, said method comprising the steps of: a. maintaining the members to be joined in a fixed relationship between a supporting means and a rotatable electrode with the member to be joined to said one member abutting one of said edge portions of said one member to thereby provide a faying surface between said edge portion and the member abutted thereagainst, said electrode and said supporting means being located on opposite sides of the faying surface between the members being joined; b. exerting a localized pressure on successive increments of said members by biasing said electrode toward the member contacted thereby and concomitantly effecting relative movement between the members and the rotatable electrode, said pressure being maintained substantially uniform as said members move relative to said electrode despite the changes in the distance between the opposed edges of said one of said members; c. simultaneously with the exertion of said localized pressure, locally heating the portions of the members on which the pressure is exerted by passing an electrical current from said electrode through the members being joined to the supporting means; and d. so regulating the current density through the members being joined as to maintain the maximum temperature of each of said members below the melting point of the material of which said member is composed and thereby prevent melting of the members but high enough to exceed the yield stress of the material from which each said member is fabricated at the pressure exerted by the electrode in a region contiguous to the faying surface and opposite the line of contact between the electrode and the member contacted thereby to thereby produce sufficient localized plastic flow of each of the members being joined to insure essentially complete metal-to-metal contact between said members along said faying surface and thereby permit a diffusion of atoms of the materials of which said members are composed across said faying surface which will produce a continuous bond between said members which is uniform throughout its length despite the changes in the distance between the opposed edge portions of said one of said members.

Claim 11

A dynamic diffusion bonding type method of joining two or more metallic members into a unitary structure by forming a continuous bond therebetween, comprising the steps of: a. maintaining the members to be joined in abutting relationship between a supporting means and a rotatable electrode to provide a faying surface therebetween, said electrode and said supporting means being located on opposite sides of the faying surface between the members being joined; b. exerting a localized pressure on successive increments of said members by biasing said electrode toward the member contacted thereby and concomitantly effecting relative movement between the members and the rotatable electrode; c. simultaneously with the exertion of said localized pressure, locally heating the portions of the members on which the pressure is exerted by passing an electrical current from said electrode through the members being joined to the supporting means; and d. so regulating the current density through the members being joined as to maintain the maximum temperature of each of said members below the melting point of the material of which said member is composed and thereby prevent melting of the members but high enough to exceed the yield stress of the material from which each said member is fabricated at the pressure exerted by the electrode in a region contiguous to the faying surface and opposite the line of contact between the electrode and the member contacted thereby to thereby produce sufficient localized plastic flow of each of the members being joined to insure essentially complete metal-to-metal contact between said members along said faying surface and thereby permit a diffusion of atoms of the materials of which said members are composed across said faying surface which will produce a continuous bond between said members; e. the temperatures in the region in which the bond is formed and in the regions contiguous thereto being maintained essentially uniform as the members move relative to the rotatable electrode by generating a feedback signal indicative of the temperature in the region in which the bond is formed and so controlling the magnitude of the current density by said signal as to maintain said temperature at a selected level.

Claim 12

A dynamic diffusion bonding type method of joining two or more metallic members into a unitary structure by forming a continuous bond therebetween, comprising the steps of: a. maintaining at least two platelike members to be joined in abutting relationship between a supporting means and a rotatable electrode with a longitudinally extending side of one member abutting a longitudinally extending edge of a second member to provide a faying surface therebetween, said electrode and said supporting means being located on opposite sides of the faying surface between the members; b. exerting a localized pressure on successive increments of said members in a direction normal to and at least partially spanning said faying surface by biasing said electrode toward the member contacted thereby and concomitantly effecting relative movement between the members and the rotatable electrode; c. simultaneously with the exertion of said localized pressure, localLy heating the portions of the members on which the pressure is exerted localized heating being effected by passing an electrical current from said electrode through the members being joined to the supporting means; and d. so regulating the current density through the members being joined as to maintain the maximum temperature of each of said members below the melting point of the material of which said member is composed and thereby prevent melting of the members but high enough to exceed the yield stress of the material from which each said member is fabricated at the pressure exerted by the electrode in a region contiguous to the faying surface and opposite the line of contact between the electrode and the member contacted thereby to thereby produce sufficient localized plastic flow of each of the members being joined to insure essentially complete metal-to-metal contact between said members along said faying surface and thereby permit a diffusion of atoms of the materials of which said members are composed across said faying surface which will produce a continuous bond between said members and thereby join one member at an angle to the other.

Claim 13

A dynamic diffusion bonding type method of joining two or more metallic members into a unitary structure of specified external configuration in which a continuous bond is formed between the members, comprising the steps of: a. confining said members relative to each other to provide a faying surface therebetween and relative to at least one tooling component configured to match the desired external configuration of the unitary structure on a generally horizontal supporting means distinct from said tooling component, said tooling component extending upwardly relative to said supporting means and having a portion thereof free of contact with at least one of the members being joined; b. providing a rotatable electrode on the opposite side of the faying surface between the members to be joined from said supporting means and in contact with one of said members; c. exerting a localized pressure on successive increments of said members by biasing said electrode toward the member contacted thereby and concomitantly effecting relative movement between the members and the rotatable electrode; d. simultaneously with the exertion of said localized pressure, locally heating the portions of the members contiguous to said line of contact between the electrode and the member contacted thereby by passing an electrical current from said electrode through the members being joined to the supporting means; and e. so regulating the current density through the members being joined as to maintain the maximum temperature of each of said members below the melting point of the material of which said member is composed and thereby prevent melting of the members but high enough to exceed the yield stress of the material from which each said member is fabricated at the pressure exerted by the electrode in a region contiguous to the faying surface and opposite the line of contact between the electrode and the member contacted thereby to thereby produce sufficient localized plastic flow of each of the members being joined to cause said material to flow into contact with and to assume the configuration of the tooling component and to insure essentially complete metal-to-metal contact between said members along said faying surface and thereby permit a diffusion of atoms of the materials of which said materials are composed across said faying surface which will produce a continuous bond between said members.

Claim 14

A dynamic diffusion bonding type method of joining two or more metallic members into a unitary structure by forming a continuous bond therebetween, comprising the steps of: a. maintaining the members to be joined in abutting relationship between a supporting means and a rotatable electrode to provide a faying surface therebetween, said electrode and said supporting means being located on opposite sides of the faying surfaCe between the members being joined; b. exerting a localized pressure on successive increments of said members by biasing said electrode toward the member contacted thereby and concomitantly effecting relative movement between the members and the rotatable electrode; c. simultaneously with the exertion of said localized pressure, locally heating the portions of the members on which the pressure is exerted by passing an electrical current from said electrode through the members being joined to the supporting means; and d. so regulating the current density through the members being joined as to maintain the maximum temperature of each of said members below the melting point of the material of which said member is composed and thereby prevent melting of the members but high enough to exceed the yield stress of the material from which each said member is fabricated at the pressure exerted by the electrode in a region contiguous to the faying surface and opposite the line of contact between the electrode and the member contacted thereby to thereby produce sufficient localized plastic flow of each of the members being joined to alter the external configuration of the members being joined in the vicinity of the faying surface and to insure essentially complete metal-to-metal contact between said members along said faying surface and thereby permit a diffusion of atoms of the materials of which said members are composed across said faying surface which will produce a continuous bond between said members as the external configuration of the members is altered.

Claim 15

A dynamic diffusion bonding-type method of simultaneously joining first and second metallic members to portions of a third member which have different lengths to thereby join said members into a unitary structure by forming continuous bonds therebetween, comprising the steps of: a. maintaining said first and second members in abutting relationship to the portions of the third member to which they are to be joined to provide faying surfaces between said first and third and said second and third members, said members being maintained in said abutting relationship between supporting means and first and second rotatable electrodes with one of said electrodes being located on the opposite side of one of said faying surfaces from the supporting means and the other of said electrodes being located on the opposite side of the other of said faying surfaces from said supporting means; b. exerting a localized pressure between said first electrode and the member contacted thereby on successive increments of said first and third members by biasing said electrode toward the member contacted thereby and concomitantly effecting relative movement between the members and the rotatable electrode; c. exerting a localized pressure between said second electrode and the member contacted thereby on successive increments of said second and third members by biasing said second electrode toward the member contacted thereby and concomitantly effecting relative movement between the members and the rotatable electrode; d. driving said first and second electrodes at different speeds so selected that the surface speed of each electrode is substantially equal to the surface speed of the member against which it is biased; e. simultaneously with the exertion of said localized pressures, locally heating the portions of the members on which pressure is exerted by passing electrical currents from said electrodes through the members being joined to the supporting means; and f. so regulating the current density through the members being joined as to maintain the maximum temperature of each of said members below the melting point of the material of which said member is composed and thereby prevent melting of the members but high enough to exceed the yield stress of the material from which each said member is fabricated at the pressures exerted by the electrodes in regions contiguous to the faying surfaces and oppositE the lines of contact between the electrodes and the members contacted thereby to thereby produce sufficient localized plastic flow of each of the members being joined to insure essentially complete metal-to-metal contact between said members along said faying surfaces and thereby permit a diffusion of atoms of the materials of which said members are composed across each of said faying surfaces which will produce a continuous bond between said members.

Claim 16

A dynamic diffusion bonding-type method of joining two or more metallic members into a unitary structure by forming a continuous bond therebetween, comprising the steps of: a. maintaining the members to be joined in abutting relationship between a supporting means and a rotatable electrode to provide a faying surface therebetween, said electrode and said supporting means being located on opposite sides of the faying surface between the members being joined and said members being maintained in said abutting relationship by assembling to at least one of the members being joined tooling so configured as to maintain the member to be joined to said one member in said abutting relationship thereto; b. exerting a localized pressure on successive increments of said members by biasing said electrode toward the member contacted thereby and concomitantly effecting relative movement between the members and the rotatable electrode; c. simultaneously with the exertion of said localized pressure, locally heating the portions of the members on which the pressure is exerted by passing an electrical current from said electrode through the members being joined to the supporting means; and d. so regulating the current density through the members being joined as to maintain the maximum temperature of each of said members below the melting point of the material of which said member is composed and thereby prevent melting of the members but high enough to exceed the yield stress of the material from which each said member is fabricated at the pressure exerted by the electrode in a region contiguous to the faying surface and opposite the line of contact between the electrode and the member contacted thereby to thereby produce sufficient localized plastic flow of each of the members being joined to insure essentially complete metal-to-metal contact between said members along said faying surface and thereby permit a diffusion of atoms of the materials of which said members are composed across said faying surface which will produce a continuous bond between said members; and e. removing the tooling by which the members being joined were maintained in said abutting relationship.