Selective laser melting of permalloy magnetic core with complex geometry

The additive manufacturing (AM) technology is theoretically feasible in fabricating components with desired geometry; however, the practice in the AM of the magnetic functional component with complex geometry is still rare. Here, we report the manufacturing of magnetic cores with complex geometry from Fe-50 %Ni permalloy powders using selective laser melting (SLM), and the mechanical and magnetic properties as well as the microstructure with annealing are also investigated. The grain size of samples is from 50 to 100 & mu;m, which exceeds the diameter of the powder. The SLM-manufactured components indicate moderate soft magnetic properties, their maximum magnetization, initial permeability, and coercivity are -151 emu/g, 310, and 6.9 Oe, respectively; and more impressively, an extremely high strength of -1060 MPa are also shown through sandblasting and annealing at 1300 degrees C. The combined excellent mechanical and soft magnetic properties make it more practical and durable in the application of complex magnetic functional components manufactured by SLM.