Research into 3D printing to create magnets is still in its early stages, explained the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) in a statement. But now, ETH doctoral student Kai von Petersdorff-Campen has made progress in the field.
He developed a process he calls “embedded magnet printing” to create products containing magnets using 3D printing. The key is to ensure that the magnets are printed directly in the plastic. Magnetic powder and plastic are mixed before printing and processed into strands known as filaments. These then go through the 3D printer, where they are processed.
Now, Petersdorff-Campen has demonstrated the process by printing a heart pump. “That was not my focus, however,” he said. “I simply wanted to show the principle.” His heart pump is one of the first prototypes with magnetic components manufactured using 3D printing – and with it, he won the prototype competition at the ASAIO conference in Washington.
While the method may not be suitable for heart pumps, the potential of 3D printing of magnets is huge, according to the ETH. Magnets are used in electric motors, such as those in numerous technical household devices. Today, such components with magnets are produced by “complex injection moulding”, though 3D printing could make this process significantly quicker and therefore cheaper.
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