Additive manufacturing of NiZnCu-ferrite soft magnetic composites

Soft magnetic composites (SMCs) are a class of magnetic materials that have the potential to create lighter and more efficient electronic devices. SMCs provide high electrical resistivity while providing high magnetic permeability, consisting of a magnetically conductive core and an insulating coating traditionally made via powder metallurgy. Until recent advances, devices needing materials with these magnetic properties have been made by complex and geometrically limited laminations or press and sinter methods; both possessing issues. This paper establishes that a multi-material system incorporating NiZnCu-ferrite and high purity iron processed via additive manufacturing (AM) can serve as a manufacturing route for SMCs, with as-built samples showing high maximum relative permeability (similar to 200,000). The results demonstrate the viability of laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) AM to produce SMCs with higher permeability than press and sinter SMCs utilizing the same powder system and chemistry while also indicating new challenges that must be overcome to produce a fully dense SMC via additive manufacturing.

Automated summary

Soft magnetic composites (SMCs) have the potential to create lighter and more efficient electronic devices by combining magnetically conductive cores and insulating coatings. Through additive manufacturing processes, a multi-material system incorporating different materials can be used to manufacture SMCs with higher permeability, but new challenges must be overcome.