Manufacturing method for variable laminations used in electro-magnetic

Abstract

A method and apparatus for forming and stacking laminations that are used in an electro-magnetic device such as a motor or transformer is disclosed. The method steps and apparatus used provides the incremental forming of a predetermined number of laminations from magnetically conductive material with each lamination having at least one coil winding segment of predetermined incrementally varying width. Each coil winding segment is formed by the movement of forming elements such as punching or stamping dies or laser devices and the magnetically conductive material relative to one another. Following formation of the laminations with the aforementioned coil winding segments of predetermined incrementally varying width, the laminations, with the formed coil winding segments, are stacked to provide a combined generally circular outer cross sectional winding area about which a predetermined length of conductive wire can be positioned, either directly around the cross sectional winding area about a bobbin wound with the electrically conductive wire, or about a split bobbin first assembled over the winding area and then subsequently wound with electrically conductive wire. When the forming elements are moved relative to the magnetically conductive material, the forming elements can be moved in any direction in any predetermined linear and/or curvilinear path, depending on the laminations produced. For the manufacture of certain electro-magnetic devices, in lieu of moving the forming elements relative to the magnetically conductive material, the magnetically conductive material can be moved relative to the forming elements.