Ford Motor Company Limited

Timothy J Brunetz

Joseph E Saval

A rotor shaft for electro-dynamic machinery such as a motor vehicle alternator includes a cold-headed slot through a bearing land formed on the shaft. The slot extends axially through a bearing land and either extends radially through a collar portion adjacent the bearing land, or communicates with a radially aligned shaped conductor on a slip ring. Preferably, two diametrically opposed slots are formed, and the slots provide a means for aligning the wires, for example, prior to encapsulation of the rotor by injection molding, while positioning the leads for engagement with the winding terminals and with the conductor rings on the slip ring bushing. Preferably, the shaft is made by a sequential set of cold heading steps which avoid deformation or uneven formation of the groove. A cold headed shaft formed without a collar is preferably through-fed in a single direction through one or more machining stations for production efficiency.

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Tecumseh, MI, United States of America

Timothy J Brunetz