Patent ID: 7325306

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a fibre reinforced metal matrix composite article, the method comprising the steps of: (a) forming a first metal component, forming a groove in the first metal component, (b) forming a second metal component, (c) forming at least one fibre preform, the fibre preform comprising at least one fibre, (d) placing the at least one fibre preform on a cassette, the cassette having a channel to receive the at least one fibre preform, (e) arranging the cassette and the first metal component such that the channel in the cassette is aligned with and faces the groove in the first metal component, (f) moving the at least one fibre preform from the channel in the cassette to the groove in the first metal component, (g) placing the second metal component on the first metal component such that the at least one fibre preform and a filler metal are arranged between the first metal component and the second metal component, (h) sealing the second metal component to the first metal component, (i) 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.