Additive manufacturing gains momentum in the fields of polymer and metal processing. This presentation is intended to give the audience an insight into the hitherto little considered topic of additive manufacturing of magnetic materials and the impact on the design and process route for the production of new electric drives. As part of the underlying research project, the Coldspray and Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) processes were investigated. As part of the investigations into the ColdSpray process, the effects of the NdFeB (magnetic powder) particle size and the binder material on the magnetic properties are being presented. Therefore, three magnetic powders and 2 binding materials, Aluminium and Iron, were sprayed onto substrate plates. The subsequent analyzation of the two main magnetic properties, the remanence and the coercivity show great promises for an industrial application. For the FFF process, as a part of the underlying process route for manufacturing pure, high density magnets, an introduction into the shape-debind-sinter route is given. In order to overcome challenges, when printing brittle highly-filled filaments, a newly developed printing head, using a belt extruder is presented. Further developments of printing nozzles for the additive manufacturing of anisotropic magnetic material are shown. Finally, the impact of the new methods on the design and process flow of the production of new electric drives is discussed and presented in the context of a case study of an industrial partner.
Learning Objectives:
- Evaluate the usage of Fused Filament Fabrication and Coldspray for additively manufacturing magnetic material for their applications on the basis of productivity, limitations and the magnetic properties.
- Understand current process routes and challenges for manufacturing rotors of electrical drives.
