3D Printing the Most Powerful Magnets on Earth

Magnet Applications® Inc. (Dubois, PA), a part of Bunting® Magnetics Co. (Newton, KS), a North American manufacturer of compression bonded magnets and a leading manufacturer of injection molded magnets, hybrid magnets and magnetic assemblies, has announced a breakthrough in 3D printed neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) magnets. Their engineers, working together with researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL; Oak Ridge, TN), have proven that permanent magnets produced by additive manufacturing (AM) can outperform bonded magnets that are produced using traditional methods, and with less waste.

Magnet Applications manufactured the starting composite pellets with 65 volume percent isotropic NdFeB powder and 35 percent polyamide nylon-12 binder in a precise ratio, blended to a consistent texture. The 3D printing was performed at the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) at ORNL using a Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) system. The ORNL is a science and technology laboratory managed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The complete study is published in Scientific Reports.

“AM in magnets provides multiple benefits,” explained Dr. John Ormerod, the senior technical advisor of Magnet Applications. “They have more design flexibility, which is especially beneficial in sensor technology and it creates less waste than in the traditional sintering process.” NdFeB magnets are the most powerful on earth and are used in everything from robotics, wind turbines and electric vehicles to cell phones, electric motors and other consumer and industrial equipment. With control over the size and shape of the magnet – as well as the magnetic field – further research will include printing magnets in various strengths with preferred direction of magnetization.

“With rapidly advancing technologies, the ability to manufacture the strongest magnet available in any shape without tooling, in any quantity, unleashes so many design opportunities. The work has demonstrated the potential of AM to be applied to wide range of magnetic materials and assemblies,” continued Ormerod. “We and many of our customers are excited to explore the commercial impact of this technology in the future.”

Contributing to this project were Ling Li, Angelica Tirado, Orlando Rios, Brian Post, Vlastimil Kunc, R. R. Lowden and Edgar Lara-Curzio at ORNL. Researchers included I. C. Nlebedim and Thomas Lograsso, working with CMI at Ames Laboratory. Robert Fredette and John Ormerod from Magnet Applications contributed to the project through an MDF technology collaboration. The DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office provides support for MDF through a public-private partnership that engages industry with national labs.

www.magnetapplications.com