Patent ID: 7516548

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a fibre reinforced metal matrix composite article, the method comprising the steps of: (a) forming a first metal component, (b) forming a second metal component, (c) forming at least one fibre preform, the fibre preform comprising at least one fibre, applying a glue to the fibre preform to hold the at least one fibre in position, (d) placing the at least one fibre preform and a filler metal between the first metal component and the second metal component, (e) softening the glue on the at least one fibre preform and simultaneously pressing the at least one fibre preform to increase the packing density of the at least one fibre preform, (f) sealing the second metal component to the first metal component, (g) removing the glue from the at least one fibre preform, (h) applying heat and pressure such as to consolidate the at least one fibre preform and the filler metal and to diffusion bond the filler metal, the first metal component and the second metal component to form a unitary composite component.