Patent ID: 7073247

Claim:
A method of metallurgically bonding a stator bar to a coupling having an interior cavity and an exterior opening thereto, the stator bar comprising a group of strands having adjacent ends received in the coupling through the opening of the coupling, the method comprising the steps of: providing a joining material located on a first portion of the group of strands within the coupling and adjacent the ends of the strands; heating the first portion of the group of strands to melt the joining material within the coupling and heating a second portion of the group of strands outside the coupling; cooling the first portion of the group of strands to initiate solidification of the joining material nearest the ends of the strands while continuing to heat the second portion of the group of strands; and then cooling the second portion of the group of the strands; wherein cooling of the first portion of the group of strands prior to cooling of the second portion of the group of strands causes the joining material to solidify in a direction away from the ends of the strands and toward the second portion, the joining material metallurgically bonding the strands to each other and bonding the first portion of the group of strands to the coupling so as to form a fluid-tight joint therebetween.