![Sample our Engineering & Technology journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5933/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Engineering-Tech.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
Soft magnetic materials are used in a wide variety of electromagnetic devices such as motors, relays and sensors. Over the years, the devices are becoming smaller. Therefore, it is essential to produce small parts without compromising the final properties. Metal injection moulding (MIM) is a cost-effective technique to produce small and complex soft magnetic parts with optimal mechanical and magnetic performance. These properties can be improved by maximising the sintered density and by the reduction of impurities content. These factors are strongly related to the sintering parameters. The goal of this study is to determine the influence of the sintering parameters on the final properties of iron–silicon soft magnetic alloys processed by metal injection moulding. In this work, two alloys were sintered under different conditions. The effect of the sintering conditions on both mechanical and magnetic properties was evaluated.
This paper is part of a special issue on the Advances in Materials and Processing Technologies (AMPT) 2015 and has subsequently been revised and extended before publication in Powder Metallurgy.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Material Physics Institute of the Porto University where some of the experimental works were performed.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes on contributors
Alicia Páez Pavón, an industrial engineer (Materials expert), obtained her Master's degree in Materials Science and Engineering (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid) and PhD in Materials Science and Engineering, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Her main line of research is the development and optimisation of the Metal Injection Molding (MIM) process of soft magnetic materials. Now, she has published several works in journals collected in the JCR and she has contributed to national and international conferences in the field of powder metallurgy. She has participated in two R+D+i projects of public funding at national and international levels.
Antonia Jiménez-Morales received her degree in Chemical Sciences from Autonomy University of Madrid in Madrid and her PhD from the Carlos III University of Madrid in Madrid. She is a member of Electrochemical Society (ECS) and the European Internet Centre for Impedance Spectroscopy. She has co-authored over 48 works on various aspects of electrochemical materials and powder injection moulding and she has co-authored over 60 works published in book chapters with ISBN. She is a co-owner of three patents, and co-author of more than 100 congress contributions. She has been the principal researcher of seven Research Projects financial supported by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain and the European Union. She has been a member of the Organizing Committee of seven National and International Conferences, and the Chairman of two sessions of International Conferences. In addition, she is a reviewer for several journals included in JCR.
Mikel Rodríguez-Arbaizar was born in 1983 in Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain). In 2007, he finished his studies of Industrial Engineering (Industrial Chemistry speciality) at the University of the Basque Country, performing a diploma work on ‘Surface hardening of iron and steel products by metallurgical techniques’. During his studies, he underwent a 3-month internship at the analytic chemistry laboratory of Michelin España Portugal S.A. Then, he moved to the University Carlos III (Madrid) to pursue a Master’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering. The subject of his Master thesis was ‘Development and characterization of polymer/cork composites for manufacturing wine bottle stoppers by powder injection moulding’. In 2008, he joined the University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland, as a research assistant at the Institute of Systems Engineering. Since 2012, he has been working as an associate researcher and responsible for the powder technology laboratory. His current activities include R&D projects, diploma works and laboratory practices. His research interests are in the development of light alloys, biomaterials, nanoparticle strengthened composites and magnetic components by powder metallurgy. His recent achievements are the development of Titanium grade 4 from TiH2 and fully dense Al6061, both of them by powder injection moulding.
Efraín Carreño-Morelli, PhD, is the Head of the Powder Technology and Advanced Materials Research Group at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland in Sion. He currently teaches in several courses of materials science and engineering, including powder metallurgy, composite materials and ceramics technology. His research interests are in the field of powder injection moulding, press & sintering, processing of metal-ceramic composites and additive manufacturing. He is the author of numerous refereed publications in international journals and conferences. He also serves as an external reviewer for several scientific journals. He is a member of the European Powder Metallurgy Association, the Professional Society for Powder Metallurgy APMI International and the Swiss Society for Biomaterials. Since 2010 he serves as a member of the Technical Program Committee (TPC) of the International Powder Metallurgy Congress EuroPM. Recent achievements include the invention of a novel three-dimensional printing technique of solvent jetting on granule beds, and the powder injection moulding of titanium from titanium hydride based feedstocks.
Professor Dr José M. Torralba is the Director-General for Universities and Research of Madrid Regional Government. He became a metallurgical Engineer (1982, Technical University of Madrid –UPM-). He obtained PhD in Eng. (1985, UPM). He became an armament and material Engineer in 1986 in Escuela Politécnica Superior del Ejército (EPSE)). He obtained PhD in Eng. (1994, EPSE). He was the head of the Materials Science and Engineering Department (UC3M) in 1999–2000, vice-rector for Academics Infrastructures (UC3M) (2000–2004), vice-rector for Research and Innovation (UC3M) (2004–2006) and deputy director of Institute IMDEA Materials (2009–2015). Being a professor of MSE at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, his main scientific-technical field of interest is Powder Metallurgy. Since 1982, he has worked with families of different sintered materials and he has been involved in technologies like mechanical alloying, metal injection moulding or spray pyrolysis to develop nanoparticles. He has published more than 450 scientific papers (210 in the JCR with more than 2000 cites), has supervised 26 PhD theses and 80 diploma theses. In 1999, he received the ‘Professor Fryderyk Staub’ award by the Silesian University of Technology (Poland), in 2001 the Honoris Causa Doctorate by the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca (Rumania), in 2005 the Slovak Academy of Sciences Award and in 2007 Honoris Causa Doctorate by the University of Craiova (Rumania). He received European Powder Metallurgy Association Special Services Award (2013), Honor Award of the University College Fernando Abril Martorell (2014) and Fellow American Powder Metallurgy Institute (2015). He has participated in more than 70 international scientific committees of International Conferences and being chairman in 7 of them (including AMTP’2001 and AMTP’2015). He has been involved in 35 competitive projects (in regional, national and international frameworks), being the main researcher in 25. He has managed several research grants with industries, including the Höganäs Chair in Powder Metallurgy. He is the regional editor (for Europe) of Journal of Materials Processing Technology and Journal of Achievements in Materials and Manufacturing Engineering and the editor-in-chief (co-editor) of Powder Metallurgy. From 2009 to 2015, he was an academic supervisor of the EPMA Summer School.