Abstract: A hollow structural connecting rod including a first end fitting, a second end fitting, and a hollow main portion situated between the first and second end fittings. First and second connecting rod elements are integrally joined to one another and have, respectively, a first hollow shank made in one piece together with the first end fitting and a second hollow shank made in one piece with the second end fitting, the first and second connecting rod elements being joined by a joint situated at mid-length on the connecting rod, and which can be produced via flow-turning. The connecting rod may find particular application to an assembly system to be interposed between an aircraft engine mounting structure and an engine.

Abstract: A method (20) of fabricating a large component such as a gas turbine or compressor disk (32) from segregation-prone materials such as Alloy 706 or Alloy 718 when the size of the ingot required is larger than the size that can be predictably formed without segregations using known triple melt processes. A sound inner core ingot (12) is formed (22) to a first diameter (D1), such as by using a triple melt process including vacuum induction melting (VIM), electroslag remelting (ESR), and vacuum arc remelting (VAR). Material is than added (26) to the outer surface (16) of the core ingot to increase its size to a dimension (D2) required for the forging operation (28). A powder metallurgy or spray deposition process may be used to apply the added material. The added material may have properties that are different than those of the core ingot and may be of graded composition across its depth. This process overcomes ingot size limitations for segregation-prone materials.

Abstract: A separator plate useful in a wet-type multiplate clutch is provided on a friction surface thereof with elongated asperities extending with regularity in a predetermined direction. Peak portions of the elongated asperities, said peak portions being to project toward a counterpart member when the separator plate is assembled in the wet-type multiplate clutch, have been removed to form elongated plateaus. The separator plate can be manufactured by fixedly mounting a blank for the separator plate on a work support, forming elongated asperities with regularity in a predetermined direction on one of opposite surfaces of the blank by a grinding wheel, and then removing peak portions of the elongated asperities, said peak portions being to project toward a counterpart member when the separator plate is assembled in the wet-type multiplate clutch, to form elongated plateaus.