Local heat treatment of electrical steel

A process for improving the core loss of magnetic material of the type having a plurality of magnetic domains, said magnetic material being chosen from the class consisting of cube-on-edge regular grain oriented silicon steel strip, cube-on-edge oriented high-permeability grain oriented silicon steel strip and cube-on-face oriented silicon steel strip, said magnetic material having been subjected to a high temperature anneal to develop its grain orientation, said magnetic material having an insulative coating thereon chosen from the class consisting of a mill glass, an applied coating and an applied coating over a mill glass, said process comprising the steps of subjecting said magnetic material, after said high temperature grain orientation developing anneal to a local heat treatment by radio frequency induction heating or radio frequency resistance heating at a frequency of at least about 450 kHz so as to produce in said magnetic material narrow parallel bands of heat treated regions with untreated regions therebetween, said heat treated bands having a length (x) of less than 1.5 mm and said treated regions having a length (X) of at least 2 mm, said heat treatment for each of said bands being accomplished in less than 0.5 seconds, and thereafter annealing said locally heat treated magnetic material at a temperature of at least about 800.degree. C. whereby to introduce artificial boundaries to decrease the 180.degree. magnetic domain wall spacing of said magnetic material without degradation of said insulative coating.