Patent ID: 8375582

Claim:
A method for fabrication of an integrally bladed rotor, comprising the steps of: clamping a first and a second rotor blade in a first and a second holding fixture respectively, wherein the first and second holding fixtures are carried on an annular clamping device; heating the first and second rotor blades, the first and second holding fixtures, a rotor body, and the annular clamping device in a vacuum oven; applying a force on a respective joint area between the first and second rotor blades and a first and a second humped protrusion on the rotor body by expanding the annular clamping device less than the first and second rotor blades during the heating step; joining the first rotor blade to the first humped protrusion on the rotor body by diffusion welding; and joining the second rotor blade to the second humped protrusion on the rotor body by diffusion welding.