Soft magnetic moldable composites: Properties and applications

A new type of electromagnetic soft magnetic material (SMM) is introduced, based on spherical iron powder particles and a suitable polymer binder. A key feature of this material is that it can be cast or molded into almost any 3D shape, hence the denotation soft magnetic moldable composite ((SMC)-C-2). The SM2C is compared with a set of reference materials, such as ferrites, laminated steels, and soft magnetic composites, in terms of primary properties such as permeability and loss, and other properties, such as thermal conductivity and manufacturability. The SM2C has the obvious disadvantage of relatively low permeability, but offers benefits such as relatively low losses and high potential for close integration into electromagnetic circuits. Some recent SM2C applications are illustrated, and design and manufacturing aspects are discussed. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.