Metal Injection Molding (MIM) of NdFeB Magnets

Due to the increased and unstable prices for Rare Earth elements there are activities to develop alternative hard magnetic materials. Reducing the amount of material necessary to produce complex sintered NdFeB magnets can also help to reduce some of the supply problem. Metal Injection Molding (MIM) is able to produce near net shape parts and can reduce the amount of finishing to achieve final geometry. Although MIM of NdFeB has been patented and published fairly soon after the development of the NdFeB magnets there has never been an industrial production. This could be due to the fact that MIM was very young at that time and hardly developed. Thus, the feasibility of the process needs to be revaluated. This paper presents results of our work on determining the process parameters influencing the magnetic properties of the sintered magnets as well as the shrinkage during processing. The role of binder and powder loading on the alignment of the particles as well as on the carbon and oxygen contamination was examined.