Paper Number
AM16 

Session
Additive Manufacturing

Title
Direct write of UV curable polymer-bonded magnets

Presentation Date and Time
October 16, 2018 (Tuesday) 10:40

Track / Room
Track 3 / Bellaire

Authors (Click on name to view author profile)

  1. Shen, Alan (University of Connecticut, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)
  2. Ma, Anson (University of Connecticut, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)
  3. Dardona, Sameh (United Technologies Research Center)
  4. Bailey, Callum (United Technologies Research Center)

Author and Affiliation Lines (in printed abstract book)
Alan Shen1, Anson Ma1, Sameh Dardona2, and Callum Bailey2
1Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06268; 2United Technologies Research Center, East Hartford, CT 06108

Speaker / Presenter 
Shen, Alan

Text of Abstract
Today, almost all commercial magnet manufacturers are using the conventional production method based on magnetic powder compaction and sintering. Alternatively, magnetic powder may be embedded directly within a polymer to produce “polymer-bonded magnets”. The latter method has recently gained popularity because of the design freedom in terms of complex shapes. Compared to the conventional sintering process, the maximum energy product (BH)max of polymer-bonded magnets is generally lower. However, the fabrication of polymer-bonded magnets does not require high temperature sintering, reducing the associated costs and processing time. A new additive manufacturing method coined "UV-assisted direct write" (UVADW) has been developed to produce polymer-bonded magnets at room temperature. The UVADW method involves mixing magnetic powder (Nd-Fe-B) with a photo-curable binder to create an ink, which is then extruded through a nozzle and deposited onto a substrate. Understanding the ink rheology is critical to ensuring the printability and the shape fidelity of the printed structures. Parameters explored include the shape and polydispersity of the Nd-Fe-B particles with the ultimate goal to maximize the loading of the magnetic particles and consequently the magnetic performance.