Bulk Nanocrystalline Permanent Magnets by Selective Laser Melting

Abstract

Abstract Fe-Nd-B powders were processed by additive manufacturing using laboratory scale selective laser melting to produce bulk nanocrystalline permanent magnets. The manufacturing process was carried out in a specially developed process chamber under Ar atmosphere. This resulted in novel types of microstructures with micrometer scale clusters of nanocrystalline hard magnetic grains. Owing to this microstructure, a maximum coercive field strength (coercivity) μ0Hc of 1.16 T, a remanence Jr of 0.58 T, and a maximum energy product (BH)max of 62.3 kJ/mm3could, for example, be obtained for the composition Nd16.5-Pr1.5-Zr2.6-Ti2.5-Co2.2-Fe65.9-B8.8.