Patent ID: 7198684

Claim:
A method for manufacturing a plurality of articles from a plurality of metallic-alloy workpieces, comprising the steps of providing a plurality of workpieces, wherein the workpieces are substantially identical and are made of a workpiece material that requires post-metalworking annealing at an annealing temperature; providing a manufacturing apparatus comprising a metalworking apparatus, and an annealing apparatus wherein each workpiece is annealed by single-workpiece annealing in air and not by large-batch annealing; establishing a workpiece flow of the plurality of workpieces sequentially through the metalworking apparatus and the annealing apparatus, wherein the workpieces are worked in a metalworking region in the metalworking apparatus, and thereafter the workpieces are held at the annealing temperature in the annealing apparatus for a time of not greater than about 5 minutes.