The modern production environment necessitates long-term dependability, low energy consumption, and design flexibility.  Design flexibility refers to the capacity to produce intricate three-dimensional forms with the least amount of machining loss—another energy waster.  Imagine being able to take your current design and turn it into a single piece with proven durability and potential cost savings, instead of a complicated multi-piece assembly that needs a lot of machining.  PM, or powder metallurgy, is the solution. PM is an established metal-forming process that uses particle materials that are compressed in a closed mould.

  PM is a tried-and-true technology that increases the design flexibility of structural components; the automotive, lawn and garden, home appliance, power hand tool, hydraulics, and many other industries have embraced it.  PM components' long-term dependability has been repeatedly shown, especially in the automotive sector where a large number of PM parts are still in use after more than 20 years.  

  Is it possible to apply this adaptable and well-proven technology to the next generation of electric motors?  The quick response is: Definitely, the ongoing development of soft magnetic composites (SMCs) as a technology that makes non-traditional motor topologies such as yokeless axial flux, radial flux, and axial flux possible.

  Prioritizing high performance and energy efficiency over high performance, early SMCs were a product ahead of its time.  However, as we are all too aware, the electrical device market is evolving quickly, and SMC technology makes it possible to satisfy the rising standards for efficiency and performance.  

  Since its infancy, SMC technology has significantly advanced to its current state of the art.  Observe how each of these components has a complex three-dimensional shape, which is a crucial component of the design. The ability of PM to compact smaller segments of a larger design and then glue these shapes together to form a single shape without regard to size or part complexity while still maintaining electrical and mechanical performance is another intriguing design feature. This is achieved through the use of a proprietary bonding technique.   

→3D magnetic flux pathway.  SMC components are not limited by the direction of flow of the magnetic flux lines in the part because they are initially made of a powder material.  in contrast to laminations in which the lamination's plane contains the preferred flux path.

→Lower overall core losses at higher frequencies.  Once more, the losses are confined to the individual particle size because the starting material is an insulated fine ferrous powder.    

→The capacity to adjust the magnetic response to the required permeability as well as frequency.  It is possible to fine-tune the SMC part to meet the numerous demanding magnetic responses of a wide range of applications by controlling the particle size and overall part density.    

→High material efficiency and low production energy.  Given that SMCs are a derivative of PM, their high material utilization (greater than 95%) comes naturally.

→Remove the requirement for joining multiple laminations. To create the stator stack, stamping laminations requires holding the individual laminations together.  With SMC technology, a single-piece design can be produced without the need for joining, whether this is done through welding, staking, or even gluing. Prior research has demonstrated that the core losses (heat) produced by the device are significantly increased by both welding and stacking.  The core loss characteristics remain unchanged even in the case where the SMC part is a segmented assembly.