Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

C Bing Rong

Feng Liang

Michael W Degner

Leyi Zhu

Jun Yang

Wanfeng Li

Lusu Guo

A method for printing a three-dimensional (3D) article is provided by the present disclosure. The method includes induction heating, by an induction head assembly, a magnetic material to form an alloy melt. The induction head assembly includes a nozzle and an induction heater that heats the magnetic material. The method further includes including the alloy melt from the nozzle onto a base, and tracing a predetermined pattern on the base with the alloy melt to form a three-dimensional article.

Method for three-dimensional printing of magnetic materials

Magnetic cores and method and fixtures for forming the same are disclosed. The magnetic core may comprise a magnetic body including magnetic grains and a magnetic flux path, the magnetic grains aligned in a plurality of distinct directional alignments to conform to the magnetic flux path. The grain orientation of the cores may be provided by fixtures including electrical circuits and/or permanent magnets. The fixtures may be configured to produce magnetic fields that approximate, mimic, or correspond to a magnetic flux path in the magnetic core, once it is consolidated and in use. The magnetic fields may orient the grains of the magnetic core when they are in an unconsolidated state, such that the grains are aligned in a plurality of directional alignments that approximate, mimic, or correspond to a magnetic flux path in the magnetic core.

Fixtures and methods for forming aligned magnetic cores

A composite permanent magnet comprises a first phase including a magnetically hard material and a second phase including a magnetic material. Each of the materials has an anisotropy value selected such that a ratio of the values falls within a predefined range and a resulting grain size of the magnetic material is greater than a predefined threshold defined by the predefined range.

Magnetic phase coupling in composite permanent magnet

A hybrid powertrain utilizes a motor with a permanent magnet rotor. The rotor is formed by inserting parallelepiped magnets into slots. To reduce the likelihood of demagnetization, the net magnetization of each magnet is oriented parallel to a sidewards surface of the magnet and not perpendicular to an outwards surface of the magnet. The magnets may be arranged in multiple rows. The magnets in each row may be perpendicular to a rotor radial or diagonal to a rotor diagonal.

Motor having non-rectangular rotor magnets

In at least one embodiment, a single sintered magnet is provided having a concentration profile of heavy rare-earth (HRE) elements within a continuously sintered rare-earth (RE) magnet bulk. The concentration profile may include at least one local maximum of HRE element concentration within the bulk such that a coercivity profile of the magnet has at least one local maximum within the bulk. The magnet may be formed by introducing alternating layers of an HRE containing material and a magnetic powder into a mold, pressing the layers into a green compact, and sintering the green compact to form a single, unitary magnet.

Grain boundary diffusion process for rare-earth magnets

Methods for forming a motor core having separately processed stator and rotor laminations are disclosed. The stator and rotor laminations may be formed from a single electrical steel source, such as a sheet or coil. The methods may include forming and heat treating a first portion of the steel source to form stator laminations having a first microstructure (e.g., mean grain size) and magnetic and mechanical properties (e.g., core loss). They may further include forming and heat treating a second portion of the steel source to form rotor laminations having a second microstructure that is different from the first and magnetic and mechanical properties that are different from the stator laminations. The stator laminations may have improved core loss and permeability performance and the rotor laminations may have improved mechanical properties. By separating the processing, each core may have properties tailored to conditions that they will experience in operation.

Motor core formed from a single steel source and having separately processed rotor and stator laminations

In at least one embodiment, a hybrid permanent magnet is disclosed. The magnet may include a plurality of anisotropic regions of a Nd&#x2014;Fe&#x2014;B alloy and a plurality of anisotropic regions of a MnBi alloy. The regions of Nd&#x2014;Fe&#x2014;B alloy and MnBi alloy may be substantially homogeneously mixed within the hybrid magnet. The regions of Nd&#x2014;Fe&#x2014;B and MnBi may have the same or a similar size. The magnet may be formed by homogeneously mixing anisotropic powders of MnBi and Nd&#x2014;Fe&#x2014;B, aligning the powder mixture in a magnetic field, and consolidating the powder mixture to form an anisotropic hybrid magnet. The hybrid magnet may have improved coercivity at elevated temperatures, while still maintaining high magnetization.

Growing community of inventors

Canton, MI, United States of America

C Bing Rong