Laser Beam Melting of NdFeB for the production of rare-earth magnets

Concerning rare-earth materials additive techniques like hollow cathode discharging or magnetron sputtering have been used to produce thin films, e.g. for the application in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). In this paper our investigations in additively processing NdFeB-powder materials by means of laser beam melting in a powder bed (LBM) in order to produce macroscopic, three-dimensional specimens are presented. In this context we explain the advantages of additively manufactured magnets in comparison to conventional production methods. Furthermore different rare-earth-material powders were characterized with respect to their suitability for the LBM process. We describe a melting or sintering of the material at varying process parameters to obtain test cubes. Those specimens were magnetized and their magnetic field was analyzed. Additionally the density and microstructure of the samples was investigated. Subsequently we conclude this paper by presenting future steps of our research.