Elkem Silicones, a manufacturer of materials, made an announcement about developing an iron silicon powder for 3D printing that can be used for electric motor components. The powder can be magnetized and demagnetized easily, enhancing the resiliency of created parts. An electric scooter’s components have been designed to test this new material. This is under the auspices of the 3-year SOMA project (Lightweight Solutions for e-mobility by AM for soft magnetic alloys), backed by EIT Raw Materials and funded by the European Union.
The common method of manufacturing electric motor parts is by cutting metal sheets. However, this technique can result in parts that are not strong enough and too fragile for its intended purposes. To answer this, Elkem Silicones along with VTT (project coordinator), Siemens, Stellantis, and Gemmate Technologies resorted to additive manufacturing to enable the production of parts with higher performance. They chose a powder-based process.
Subsequently, Elkem Silicones developed a specific material to meet the prerequisites of electric motors. The idea was to assess this powder’s performance by performing 3D printing tests on models. The company mentioned that the powder contains iron and silicon. Silicon, known for its high mechanical properties, semiconductor nature and use in enhancing the strength of metal alloys, combines with iron, famous for its malleability, ductility and magnetism. This combination offers the advantage of easy magnetization and demagnetization for the components of electric motors.
ATV’s Tomi Lindroos explains: “This is a project with potential to transform motor parts manufacturing. We have successfully created a new [specialized] powder with good printability based on silicon-steel (with additives). 3D-printed components show enhanced ductility and competitive magnetic properties.”
The partners aim to produce motor parts for an electric scooter. Jan Ove Odden, project manager at Elkem, concludes: “The powder developed in the SOMA project will now be introduced to the market by Elkem for evaluating the product for future commercial production. The product is currently available in small test volumes.” Find out more about the SOMA project HERE.
“Why did the 3D printer go to therapy? Because it had too many layers of unresolved issues!”
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