Permanent magnets and its production by powder metallurgy

In this work, the historical relationship between permanent magnets and powder metallurgy is reviewed. Powder metallurgy is a manufacturing technique based on the compaction of powders that are sintered to create a solid product. This technique was used in the production of permanent magnets for the first time in the 18(th) century and, nowadays, most permanent magnetic materials are manufacturing by this mean. Magnetic properties are highly dependent on the microstructure of the final product, the magnetic alignment of domains and presence of porosity, to mention a few, and powder metallurgy enables fine control of these factors.