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Most electrical machine design optimization processes do not include constraints imposed during manufacture. Ignoring cutting tolerance when optimizing a machine, for example, can result in a machine who’s performance is susceptible to manufacturing defects. Ideally, design of electrical machines for high-volume production should account for the impact of manufacturing tolerance, material variation and material processing. This ‘robust’ design ensures that models realistically predict achievable performance, thereby mitigating the risk of obsolescence during mass production. This paper introduces a procedure to address the influence of lamination punching in the robust design of electrical machines. A six-phase segmented switch reluctance motor is simulated with a multi-layer finite element model to account for the effects of punching on the magnetic characteristics of the electrical steel laminations. Additionally, to enhance the accuracy of finite element model, a geometry-dependent excitation and control circuit is integrated with the finite element model. The results demonstrate that the optimization model presented increases the likely torque output of a machine built with a normal distribution of manufacturing errors.