The first thing many of us think of when we hear the word magnet is that horseshoe N-S bar from elementary school science class. The truth is that the world we live in relies heavily on the power of these opposing forces in motors, generators, speakers, trains, TVs, cranes and compasses for navigation.
They are in no uncertain terms paramount in driving the technological systems that surround us so when Oak Ridge National Laboratory announced their 3D printed permanent magnets outperform the conventional variety well, I’ll take that as another victory for additive manufacturing.
A permanent magnet is one that creates its own persistent magnetic field and therefore keep going without the need for any recharge. A good example of one is found in your refrigerator door for example. Pull open as often as you want and it will always snap back shut with ease.
The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory study created their 3D printed magnets by blending magnetic powders with a polymer as a binder and then by depositing the material into its preferred shape using several commercial processing methods including extrusion.
And while the idea of 3D printing a powerful magnet might be new to many, it is further evidence that the technology is being adopted by more and more faculties around the world is growing steadfast.
Composite pellets are melted, compounded, and extruded layer-by-layer into desired forms.
Liang Li, ORNL research and study co-author suggests that “manufacturing is changing rapidly, and a customer may need 50 different designs for the magnets they want to use. Traditional injection moldi...
SOURCE: 3ders.org ( go on reading...)
