Abstract: In a method to manufacture an improved exciter for a generator, the exciter comprising an exciter rotor, and an exciter stator, a coil of full hard cold rolled electrical steel is provided, the steel comprising at least silicon in a weight percent greater than 0.60%. Without a prior annealing of the full hard cold rolled steel coil, the coil is slit to create at least one strip. The at least one strip is stamped to create a plurality of rotor laminations and a plurality of stator laminations from the same strip. The rotor laminations are separated from the stator laminations and the set of rotor laminations and the set of stator laminations are created. Only the set of exciter rotor laminations are annealed. The annealed set of exciter rotor laminations are assembled to create the exciter rotor and the set of not annealed exciter stator laminations are assembled to create the exciter stator.

Abstract: In a method to manufacture an improved exciter for a generator, the exciter comprising an exciter rotor, and an exciter stator, a coil of full hard cold rolled electrical steel is provided, the steel comprising at least silicon in a weight percent greater than 0.60%. Without a prior annealing of the full hard cold rolled steel coil, the coil is slit to create at least one strip. The at least one strip is stamped to create a plurality of rotor laminations and a plurality of stator laminations from the same strip. The rotor laminations are separated from the stator laminations and the set of rotor laminations and the set of stator laminations are created. Only the set of exciter rotor laminations are annealed. The annealed set of exciter rotor laminations are assembled to create the exciter rotor and the set of not annealed exciter stator laminations are assembled to create the exciter stator.

Abstract: A method of preparing a metal alloy product from a powder blend. The method comprising: (a) cold pressing a blend to form a compact, the metal blend comprising a metal powder phase and at least one reinforcement phase having a hardness greater than the metal phase; (b) heating the compact to form a preheated compact; and (c) hot working the heated compact. In a preferred method, the powder metal blend comprises 50 to 90 vol. % of an aluminum alloy powder and 10 to 50 vol. % of silicon carbide; the heating of the compact perforated in a nitrogen atmosphere to form a preheated compact; and the extruded hot compact is hot worked. Hot working may take the form of forging, rolling, upset forging, exuding, compacting or other processes known in the art.