Abstract: A retractable instrumentation platform for supporting instrumentation adjacent a roll of a rolling mill. This platform is accurately positioned within a rolling mill at a preselected elevation and it is retractable away from the monitored roll, when desired, for maintenance or other purposes. The re-positioning of this platform within the rolling mill after being retracted is accurately controlled such that it is returned back to its original reference elevation without the need to re-calibrate the supported instrumentation.

Abstract: A method of fabricating a fiber-reinforced metal matrix composite including the steps of mounting of a braided fiber tube on a substrate, wrapping a braze foil about the braided fiber tube to form an assembly that is encapsulated by a metal capsule which is creep collapsed onto the assembly at a temperature below the braze foil flowpoint. The encapsulated assembly is subsequently heated to a temperature sufficient to induce flow of the braze foil alloy and later cooled to allow solidification and annealing of the resulting fiber reinforced metal composite.