Ceramic adhesive is applied inside the slots of an electric machine squirrel cage rotor prior to casting or insertion of rotor conductors. This heat-resistant insulation provides superior electrical insulation that is also mechanically rugged, thus enabling casting of squirrel cage rotors by die or cost-effective consumable pattern casting. The consumable pattern cast copper rotors are electrically well insulated, thus minimizing rotor losses. The ceramic insulation in cast rotors enables longer conductors to be cast by thermally insulating the molten metal from the cooler laminations. The ceramic insulation in fabricated rotors withstands the high temperatures of end ring attachment. This method is applicable to both conventional induction machine rotors and brushless doubly-fed induction machine rotors and provides the degree of electrical isolation of the bars from the laminations needed to avoid excessive parasitic torques in doubly-fed machines, while ensuring adequate thermal conductivity to dissipate conductive bar heat to the laminations.