A stator and a method of manufacturing at least a portion of a progressive cavity motor or pump include disposing a cylindrical shell within a cylindrical housing, disposing a stator mold within the cylindrical shell, disposing an elastomeric material between the stator mold and the cylindrical shell, removing the stator mold from within the elastomeric material, thereby forming an elastomeric material layer having a stator profile within the cylindrical shell, and removing the cylindrical shell from within the cylindrical housing, thereby forming a cartridge having the elastomeric material layer disposed within the cylindrical shell.

An ECM method involves the use of a thin hollow electrode assembly that carries the electrolyte within and that is advanced relatively to the workpiece. The small profile of the electrode results in a minimal removal of metal in forming the desired rotor or stator shape. The electrode profile allows significant power consumption reduction or increased machining speed for a given rate of power input. The electrode can be a unitary ring shape or can be made of segments that are placed adjacent each other so that a continuous shape is cut. Not all the lobes of the stator or rotor have to be cut in the same pass. Electrode segments can be used to sequentially provide the desired lobe count in separate passes. The lobe shapes in the electrode can be slanted to get the desired rotor or stator pitch or they can be aligned with the workpiece axis.

In some embodiments, a method is disclosed for manufacturing an undercut stator from a unitary cylindrical workpiece using broaching techniques. In other embodiments, methods are disclosed for manufacturing undercut and non-undercut stators using friction welding techniques to conjoin threaded end sections to stator sections having helical pathways formed therein.