Patent ID: 7784182

Claim:
A method for manufacturing an integrally bladed rotor, comprising: (a) providing a ring component, wherein the ring component further includes: at least one metal matrix composite; and continuous, radially outwardly facing conical surface; (b) providing an airfoil component, wherein the airfoil component has been created from a single piece of material and further includes: a plurality of individual airfoil blades formed from the single piece of material; and a continuous, radially inwardly facing conical surface; (c) using inertia welding means for frictionally engaging under an axially applied weld load the ring component and the airfoil component to effect an inertia weld therebetween along the conical surfaces; and (d) removing a quantity of material around the base of each airfoil blade following the welding of the airfoil component to the ring component to a diameter smaller than the weld diameter between each conical surface.