Abstract: An armature assembly support pallet has armature assembly support surfaces which exhibit a magnetic field that magnetizes the portions of the armature shaft adjacent the support surfaces so that armature assembly is magnetically attracted to the support surfaces and thereby maintained in a precise axial position on the pallet as the pallet is conveyed between work stations. The magnetic field is preferably created by thin layers of magnetic material secured to upwardly-facing surfaces of V-shaped portions of support members or blocks affixed to the body of the pallet. The pallets may be used without changes or adjustments for supporting armature assemblies having a substantial range of various different configurations. Pallets of known construction, including those with adjustable support members, may be modified or retrofitted by providing them with magnetic support surfaces.

Abstract: A stator support assembly for use during the manufacture of electric motor stator assemblies includes a pallet, a rotatable stator support nest mounted on the pallet, and a lock arrangement that resists rotation of the nest from plural, locked, rotary orientations. The nest has generally horizontal, upwardly-facing, stator core supporting surfaces and generally vertical stator core confining wall portions. Accordingly, a stator assembly being manufactured is supported in a substantially fixed position or orientation as required when a stator assembly is being transferred from one workstation to the next but can be manually rotated from one locked position to the next for the convenience of a human operator when manual operations on the stator assembly are performed. Lock arrangements that may be used comprise recesses and one or more cooperating spring-biased detents or, alternatively, holes and a spring-biased shot pin.