Strippable mask patterning of stop-off for diffusion bond processing

摘要

An improved method for forming fluid inflatable metal structures is taught. The improvement concerns the patterning of the portion of the structure to be inflated. Patterning is accomplished by first applying a strippable flexible mask coating and then scoring this coating so that a patterned portion may be removed therefrom. The parent portion is the portion of the sheet article to be inflated by subsequent processing. After the patterned portion has been removed, a stop-off is applied to the exposed surface of the first sheet. After the stop-off material has been applied, the remainder of the strippable mask is removed and washed with a detergent to remove the residue from the mask. The sheet having stop-off applied in the pattern to the first sheet is then superposed over a second sheet, and heat and pressure are applied to cause diffusion bonding between the exposed surfaces of the two sheets. Following this bonding, the portion of the sheet carrying the stop-off is inflated to give the article its final configuration.