Soft Magnetic Powder Composites and Potential Applications in Modern Electric Machines and Devices

Powder metallurgical manufacture has the singular ability to produce net shaped products (gear box parts and motor parts) for the automobile industry. Soft magnetic composite (SMC) powder coupled with the P/M production process open new possibilities in the design and manufacture of parts for electrical applications. With increasing values of operating frequency, the use of SMC can contribute to a substantial decrease of specific core losses of the machine, simultaneously increasing its total efficiency. In contrast to laminated cores, the manufacturing process of SMCs does not influence their final magnetic properties. These properties are homogenous and do not change after assembly of the motor. New SMC materials can outperform current laminated steel materials when measurements are done in the same conditions with similar samples. Many of the existing prejudices about the magnetic properties of SMC can thus be eliminated or attenuated if we respect its optimal use in adequate applications.