MAGNETIC CHARACTERIZATION OF 3D PRINTED HIGHPERFORMANCE POLYAMIDE MAGNETIC COMPOSITE

Polyamide 4.6 is classified as a high-temperature thermoplastic because of its service temperatures of up to 175°C, bringing it close to high-temperature plastics like PPS or PEEK. Due to its high-temperature capability and price/performance ratio, Polyamide 4.6 is considered viable in developing high-performance bonded magnets by serving as a binder/matrix to magnetic powders/fillers to form multifunctional magneto polymeric composites that offer superior properties to conventional materials. In this research, 10 wt.% and 30 wt.% strontium ferrite magnetic powders were compounded with polyamide 4.6 using a co-rotating twin screw extruder to fabricate monofilament bonded magnets for 3D printing. Morphological and magnetic characterization was performed on the 3D printing monofilament samples using Scanning Electron Microscopy, and Vibrating Sample Magnetometer, respectively. The morphological observations showed an even dispersion of the strontium ferrite fillers in the magnetic composite. The magnetic hysteresis results obtained via the VSM measurement at elevated temperatures indicate that the polyamide 4.6 binder was durable enough to keep the magnetic particles from moving in the bonded magnets. This suggests that the strontium ferrite bonded with Polyamide 4.6 binder is a much better composite and can be used in high-temperature applications up to 150 °C.