NOVELTY - Electrode-forming slurry of finely divided catalyst, polymer binder and liquid vehicle is prepared. Membrane electrolyte strip is tensioned in longitudinal direction and contacted with vehicle to make it swell in x,y and z directions forming pre-swollen strip. Electrolyte is constrained against shrinking in x and y directions during drying, and coated with slurry and heated, while continuing the constraining.    USE - For Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) and Solid Polymer Electrolyte (SPE) fuel cells used as power source for electric vehicles.    ADVANTAGE - Coating of slurry is best accomplished by air atomized spraying, liquid nozzles or slot coating which does not require applicators contacting membrane electrolyte. There is no significant additional dimensional change in membrane, thereby maintaining dimensional integrating of uncured catalyst layers.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - The membrane electrode assembly has x and y directions perpendicular to each other in a plane of assembly and x direction through the thickness of assembly normal to the plane. The pre-swollen proton conductive, polymeric membrane is mounted in a frame to effect constraining. The polymeric membrane is made of sulfonic acid cation exchange fluorocarbon and vehicle selected from the group containing water and glycol to minimize swelling. The constraining is performed by grasping lateral edges of pre-swollen strip that extent in longitudinal x direction. During heating of slurry coated strip polymer binder is cured and shrinking in x and y directions is preventing while shrinking in z direction is allowed. After heating the tensioning and shrinkage are stopped and dried strips are cut into pieces, hydrated and assembled into fuel cell. After assembly the pieces swell in z direction and prompt enhanced electrical contact with contiguous cell components adapted to collect current from membrane electrode assembly. The pieces in the fuel cell are hydrated with hot steam.    DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The figure shows the isometric view of tractor clamps used for handling MEA strip in coating and heating stages of the MEA manufacturing process.