Axial flux machine manufacture

A method of manufacturing permanent magnets 24a,b, for an axial flux permanent magnet machine, the machine comprising a stator comprising a set of coils disposed circumferentially at intervals about a machine axis and a rotor mounted for rotation about the machine axis. The rotor comprises a set of magnets disposed circumferentially at intervals about the machine axis, each permanent magnet extending in a plane perpendicular to the axis and having a first face 25e towards the stator and a second opposite face 25f. The rotor and stator are spaced apart along the axis to define a gap in which magnetic flux in the machine is generally in an axial direction. The method comprises for each magnet to be mounted in a magnet fixture 320 in a cutting position relative to a wire cutting machine with an array of cutting wires 310, and moving the magnet and the array of cutting wires relative to one another to simultaneously make an array of cuts across the magnet, where each cut extends through a thickness of the magnet from the first face to the second face. The wire cutting machine may provide a variety of different arrangements of arrays of cuts.