Holder for a helical brush and a grounding brush assembly

A holder for a grounding brush assembly for an electric machine, the grounding brush assembly including a helical conductive brush with a helical retainer having opposing axial ends and a plurality of electrically conductive fibers extending radially outwardly from the retainer, the electric machine including a hollow shaft, the hollow shaft being rotatable about a central axis and having a bore, and a fixed shaft extending through the bore of the hollow shaft, the holder comprising:

• a circular tubular base having a centerline, a first axial end and second axial end spaced apart along the centerline, an inner circumferential surface extending between the first and second axial ends and defining a bore configured to receive a portion of the fixed shaft, and a cylindrical outer circumferential surface extending between the first and second axial ends and sized to receive the helical brush;
• a first flange extending radially outwardly from the first axial end of the base and engageable with an axial end of the helical brush so as to retain the helical brush disposed about the base;
• and
• a second flange extending radially outwardly from the second axial end of the base and engageable with another axial end of the helical brush or a centering bearing disposed on the base between the helical brush and the second flange to retain the helical brush disposed about the base.