Additive manufacturing of an Fe–Cr–Co permanent magnet alloy with a novel approach of <i>in-situ</i> alloying

Additive manufacturing has become increasingly important in the production of magnetic materials in recent years due to the great demands for miniaturization and complex-shaped magnet parts. In this study, the laser beam-powder bed fusion process (LPBF) has been used to develop an in-situ alloying process for the additive manufacturing of a permanent magnet material of the Fe–Cr–Co system. This novel method allows for the production of complex alloys with a chemical composition suited to each specific case of application, achieved by using elemental powders or simpler commercial alloy powders as base materials. The core focus of this study has been on the development and characterization of the printing process using a Fe-30.5Cr-15Co-1.5Mo alloy. The in-situ alloying process has been developed by performing melt pool tests on the two main component powders Fe and Cr and by conducting parameter studies using two different powder mixtures with different sphericity of their components. The influence of different printing parameters and post-printing treatments on the chemical homogeneity and magnetic properties has been studied for selected samples. In addition, magnetic measurements at different temperatures have been performed to investigate the temperature stability of the magnetic properties of the 3D printed material.