| Abstract Scope |
Among the wide range of materials processed using additive manufacturing (AM), there remains strong interest in rare-earth magnetic materials, particularly NdFeB magnets. Conventional fabrication methods such as sintering and pressing dominate production but offer limited design flexibility and require multiple post-processing steps. This study investigates the printability of NdFeB magnets using laser engineered net shaping (LENS), a directed energy deposition (DED) technique. A comprehensive design of experiments was conducted to evaluate process parameters and fabricate bulk components. Internal defects, including cracks and porosity, were characterized using micro-computed tomography (CT) and correlated with processing conditions. Although near-net-shape fabrication was achieved, the as-built parts exhibited poor magnetic performance due to limited formation of the hard-magnetic Nd2Fe14B phase. To address this, flash annealing was applied to as-fabricated parts, improving the magnetic properties. A mechanistic relationship between processing, microstructure, and magnetic performance was established, highlighting the challenges and opportunities of processing NdFeB with AM. |