Producing metallic articles by reduction of nonmetallic precursor compounds and melting

A method for producing a metallic article comprising as constituents titanium and at least one alloying metal, comprising the steps of

• furnishing a mixture of at least two nonmetallic precursor compounds together comprising the constituents of the metallic element;
• chemically reducing the mixture of nonmetallic precursor compounds to produce an initial metallic particle, without melting the initial metallic particle;
• melting and solidifying the initial metallic particle to produce a cast ingot;
• and
• converting the cast ingot into a billet.

A method for producing a metallic gas turbine engine disk article comprising as constituents titanium and at least one alloying metal, comprising the steps of

• furnishing a mixture of at least two nonmetallic precursor compounds together comprising the constituents of the metallic element;
• chemically reducing the mixture of nonmetallic precursor compounds to produce an initial metallic particle having a size of no greater than about 0.070 inch, without melting the initial metallic particle;
• melting and solidifying the initial metallic particle to produce a cast ingot, without any further addition of a metallic alloying element to the initial metallic particle;
• converting the cast ingot into a billet;
• and
• fabricating the gas turbine engine disk from the billet.