Utilizing Fused Filament Fabrication for Printing Iron Cores for Electrical Devices.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Additive Manufacturing
• Powder Metallurgy

Background:

• Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is a promising additive manufacturing technique.
• Developing suitable filaments for metal part fabrication is crucial for expanding FFF applications.
• Polyolefin-elastomer binders offer potential for high metal loading and good processability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize polyolefin-elastomer-based filaments for FFF.
• To investigate the printability and thermal properties of these filaments.
• To establish a process for manufacturing dense iron parts using these filaments.

Main Methods:

• Formulation of polyolefin-elastomer binder with high iron powder loading (80 wt.%).
• Filament extrusion and characterization of processability, homogeneity, and thermal properties.
• Two-step debinding and sintering process at 900°C for iron part manufacturing.

Main Results:

• Filaments exhibited good melt-viscosity for FFF printing with 80 wt.% Fe powder.
• Sintering resulted in dense iron parts with minimal shrinkage (14 vol.%) and weight loss (20%).
• The process demonstrated superior printing and sintering performance.

Conclusions:

• The developed FFF filaments are suitable for fabricating dense iron components.
• This approach enables innovative electric motor designs through additive manufacturing.
• The polyolefin-elastomer binder system facilitates high metal loading and successful sintering.