Press Release

3D-printed magnets help create more efficient electric motors

2020/12/08

As part of the EIT-Raw Materials funded 3DREMAG consortium the group Functional Materials (FM) promotes with its profound experience in the field of permanent magnetic materials the development of a Nd-Fe-B powder designed for a resource efficient additive manufacturing (AM) process. The challenge is to transfer the knowledge from established magnet production routes to AM, since the quality of the printed magnets depends on the initial powder, which requires both spherical shape and chemical composition to result in a fully dense permanent magnetic part with a nanostructure effective for magnetic hardening. Tasks of FM in 3DREMAG are the alloy design, the magnetic and microstructural characterization of the powder and parts as well as the education of students and co-workers in the consortium.