Combining the powder material development with the additive manufacturing process is the main scientific challenge. In addition the new possibilities of the novel production method have to be evaluated, such as the design of magnets with complex shapes compared to the standard blocks and cylinders.
Permanent magnets of different material classes – Nd-Fe-B, Sm-Co, MnAl – are considered to be produced as complex shape magnets for applications in mobility, sensor setups, etc. Hereby the control of local magnetic properties by changing the laser parameters in the printing process is studied. Targeted could be magnetic gradients in the parts or functionalized local volumes in complex parts.
Magnetocaloric materials (MCM) are developed for solid state refrigeration systems and especially the regenerators are in the focus of the utilization of the AM advantages such as complex shaping of channels in the material. In a test irregular shaped LaFeSi powders have been used and promising results can be expected for spherical powders. Furthermore, Heusler alloys and shape memory alloys are already tested in AM processes. An additional challenge is the structural stability of these materials undergoing cyclic phase transitions including volume changes.
For the application of sensor materials the magnetic materials have to be qualified for long term use and reproducible production. The materials act as thermal sensor, strain gauge or magnetic stray field source. It can be imagined to integrate them in larger construction parts for monitoring and reliability analytics.
