Abstract:
A method for producing an RFeB system magnet with high coercivity by preventing a coating material from peeling off the surface of a base material during a grain boundary diffusion treatment is provided. A method for producing an RL2Fe14B system magnet which is a sintered magnet or a hot-deformed magnet containing, as the main rare-earth element, a light rare-earth element RL which is at least one of the two elements of Nd and Pr, the method including: applying, to a surface of a base material M of the RL2Fe14B system magnet, a coating material prepared by mixing a silicone grease and an RH-containing powder containing a heavy rare-earth element RH composed of at least one element selected from the group of Dy, Tb and Ho; and heating the base material together with the coating material. Improved coating and base materials adhesion facilitates transfer of RH into base material grain boundaries.
Abstract:
A NdFeB system sintered magnet produced by the grain boundary diffusion method and has a high coercive force and squareness ratio with only a small decrease in the maximum energy product. A NdFeB system sintered magnet having a base material produced by orienting powder of a NdFeB system alloy and sintering the powder, with Dy and/or Tb (the “Dy and/or Tb” is hereinafter called RH) attached to and diffused from a surface of the base material through the grain boundary inside the base material by a grain boundary diffusion treatment, wherein the difference Cgx-Cx between the RH content Cgx (wt %) in the grain boundary and the RH content Cx (wt %) in main-phase grains which are grains constituting the base material at the same depth within a range from the surface to which RH is attached to a depth of 3 mm is equal to or larger than 3 wt %.
Abstract:
A NdFeB system sintered magnet according to the present invention is a NdFeB system sintered magnet having a base material produced by orienting powder of a NdFeB system alloy and sintering the powder, with Dy and/or Tb (the “Dy and/or Tb” is hereinafter called RH) attached to and diffused from a surface of the base material through the grain boundary inside the base material by a grain boundary diffusion treatment, wherein the number of grain-boundary triple points at which the difference Ct−Cw between the RH content Ct (wt %) at the grain-boundary triple point and the RH content Cw (wt %) at a two-grain boundary portion leading to that grain-boundary triple point is equal to or smaller than 4 wt % is equal to or larger than 60% of the total number of grain-boundary triple points.
Abstract:
A method for producing a sintered NdFeB magnet having high coercivity and capable of being brought into applications without lowering its residual magnetic flux density or maximum energy product and without reprocessing. The method includes applying a substance containing dysprosium (Dy) and/or terbium (Tb) to the surface of the sintered NdFeB magnet forming a base body and then heating the magnet to diffuse Dy and/or Tb through the grain boundary and thereby increase the coercivity of the magnet. This method is characterized in that: (1) the substance containing Dy or Tb to be applied to the surface of the sintered NdFeB magnet is substantially a metal powder; (2) the metal powder is composed of a rare-earth element R and an iron-group transition element T, or composed of R, T and another element X, the element X capable of forming an alloy or intermetallic compound with R and/or T; and (3) the oxygen content of the sintered NdFeB magnet forming the base body is 5000 ppm or lower. The element T may contain nickel (Ni) or cobalt (Co) to produce an anticorrosion effect.
Abstract:
A powder-filling system capable of filling a container with powder at an approximately uniform filling density has: a hopper having an opening removably and hermetically closably attached to the container, the hopper communicating with the container at the opening for supplying powder to a container; a powder supplier for supplying powder to the hopper; a gas supplier for repeatedly supplying compressed gas in a pulsed form to the hopper, with the hopper hermetically closably attached to the container; and a sieve member provided at the opening and having a smaller openings in a region near a side wall of the hopper than in its central region. The smaller openings in the region near the side wall of the hopper where the powder more easily falls from the hopper into the container impedes the fall of the powder in that region and improves the overall uniformity in the filling density.
Abstract:
A powder-filling system capable of filling a container with powder at an approximately uniform filling density has: a hopper having an opening removably and hermetically closably attached to the container, the hopper communicating with the container at the opening for supplying powder to a container; a powder supplier for supplying powder to the hopper; a gas supplier for repeatedly supplying compressed gas in a pulsed form to the hopper, with the hopper hermetically closably attached to the container; and a sieve member provided at the opening and having a smaller openings in a region near a side wall of the hopper than in its central region. The smaller openings in the region near the side wall of the hopper where the powder more easily falls from the hopper into the container impedes the fall of the powder in that region and improves the overall uniformity in the filling density.
Abstract:
A sintered magnet production system using a press-less method capable of minimizing the distortion of a sintered magnet includes: a filling device for filling a container cavity with alloy powder for a sintered magnet; an orienting section for orienting the powder in the cavity by applying a magnetic field without applying a mechanical pressure to the powder; and a sintering section for sintering the powder oriented by the orienting section, by heating the powder without applying a mechanical pressure to the powder. The orienting section includes: an air-core coil; and two ferromagnetic members made of a ferromagnetic material arranged within the coil at respective open ends of the coil with a space for containing the container in between. The ferromagnetic members adjust the magnetic field within the coil toward a direction parallel to the axis of the coil, whereby distortion of a sintered magnet is minimized.
Abstract:
Provided is a NdFeB sintered magnet which can be used in the grain boundary diffusion method as a base material in which RH can be easily diffused through the rare-earth rich phase and which itself has a high coercive force, a high maximum energy product and a high squareness ratio, as well as a method for producing such a magnet. A NdFeB system sintered has an average grain size of the main-phase grains magnet is equal to or smaller than 4.5 μm, the carbon content of the entire NdFeB system sintered magnet is equal to or lower than 1000 ppm, and the percentage of the total volume of a carbon rich phase in a rare-earth rich phase at a grain-boundary triple point in the NdFeB system sintered magnet to the total volume of the rare-earth rich phase is equal to or lower than 50%.
Abstract:
A method for producing a NdFeB system sintered magnet. The method includes: a hydrogen pulverization process, in which coarse powder of a NdFeB system alloy is prepared by coarsely pulverizing a lump of NdFeB system alloy by making this lump occlude hydrogen; a fine pulverization process, in which fine powder is prepared by performing fine pulverization for further pulverizing the coarse powder; a filling process, in which the fine powder is put into a filling container; an orienting process, in which the fine powder in the filling container is oriented; and a sintering process, in which the fine powder after the orienting process is sintered as held in the filling container. The processes from hydrogen pulverization through orienting are performed with neither dehydrogenation heating nor evacuation each for desorbing hydrogen occluded in the hydrogen pulverization process. The processes from hydrogen pulverization through sintering are performed in an oxygen-free atmosphere.
Abstract:
A NdFeB system sintered magnet produced by the grain boundary diffusion method that has a high coercive force and squareness ratio with only a small decrease in the maximum energy product. The NdFeB system sintered magnet has a base material produced by orienting powder of a NdFeB system alloy and sintering the powder, with Dy and/or Tb (the “Dy and/or Tb” is hereinafter called RH) attached to and diffused from a surface of the base material through the grain boundary inside the base material by a grain boundary diffusion treatment, wherein the difference Cs-Cd3 between the RH content Cs (wt %) in the grain boundary reaching the surface to which RH is attached and the RH content Cd3 (wt %) in the grain boundary at a depth of 3 mm from the aforementioned attachment surface is equal to or smaller than 20 wt %.