Welded tailored blanks that allow for part curvature

摘要

A method of making tailored blanks in accordance with one embodiment comprises the steps of: (a) friction welding first and second structural members together along a straight interface to form a weld joint, each of the first and second structural members having a respective polygonal profile that is not a parallelogram; and (b) machining the first and second structural members to form first and second curved contours that each intersect the weld joint.