Iron-cobalt type soft magnetic material

Abstract: The iron-cobalt type soft magnetic material contains 35% to 60% by weight of cobalt, 0.03% to 2.0% by weight of aluminum, the remainder being iron, and is prepared by powder metallurgy.

Description: The present invention relates to an iron-cobalt soft magnetic material. More specifically, it relates to an iron-cobalt type soft magnetic material obtained by an addition of aluminum to an iron-cobalt alloy, and having a plastic deformability which can not be obtained by an alloy prepared by the conventional melt casting method. Iron-cobalt type soft magnetic materials have been practically applied only in limited fields, such as vibrating plates for receivers and magnetic poles for high performance electromagnets. In the prior art, as soft magnetic materials for industrial uses, iron, silicon steel, Permalloy (alloy of Ni 40 - 90% and remainder Fe), Sendust (iron alloy containing Al 5%, Si 9% and remainder Fe), and Permendur (alloy of Co 50% and remainder Fe), are known. Among the above, that having the highest saturation magnetization is Permendur, but this alloy has a drawback in that it is very brittle and is difficult to work under cold conditions. Accordingly, 2V-Permendur has been proposed as a product having an improved cold workability due to an addition of about 2% of vanadium thereto, but the workability thereof is not completely satisfactory. Accordingly, the present inventors previously filed a patent application for an iron-50% cobalt sintered alloy and a method for preparing the same by powder metallurgy (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 61-291934) to enable many of the working steps in the preparation process of a soft magnetic material to be omitted. But, even when prepared by powder metallurgy, a problem arises in that a required plastic deformability, depending on the application, cannot be obtained. Derwent Accession No. 86-336 628 discloses an iron-cobalt type soft magnetic material comprising 10 to 35% by weight of cobalt, 10% or less by weight of any of various elements including aluminium, and iron as the remainder. Objects of the present invention are to eliminate the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and to provide a novel iron-cobalt type soft magnetic material having plastic deformability. In accordance with the present invention, an iron-cobalt type soft magnetic material consists of 45 to 55% by weight of cobalt, 0.03 to 2.0% by weight of aluminium, and iron as the remainder. This material can be prepared by powder metallurgy, and more particularly by compacting and sintering a mixture comprising cobalt powder, iron-rich iron-cobalt powder, and aluminium or iron-aluminium powder. The novel material has plastic deformability. Accordingly, it has practical application in, for example, terminal instruments peripheral to computers, where more complicated shapes are required. The present invention will be better understood from the description set forth below with reference to the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is of graphs showing the relationships between the Al content and maximum magnetic permeability (µ m ), magnetisation (B 4k ) and coercive force (Hc) in a magnetic field of 4 kA/m, when 0 to 4.0% by weight of Al is added to the iron-cobalt alloy having a content of Fe/Co = 1 (weight ratio) (i.e. Fe-50% Co) in Example 1 and prepared by powder metallurgy; Fig. 2 is a graph showing the relationship between the Al content and the Vickers hardness; Fig. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between the Al content and the tensile strength; Fig. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the magnetisation (B 4k ) and the content (χ) of aluminium or vanadium contained in (50-½χ)%Fe-(50-½χ)%Co-χ%Al or V materials in Example 4; Fig. 5 is a schematic drawing illustrating a print head for the wire-dot matrix printers used in Example 5; and Fig. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between printing force and a stroke of a print head in Example 5. The aluminium content in the soft magnetic material according to the present invention is 0.03 to 2.0% by weight. If the aluminium content exceeds 2% by weight, the saturation magnetisation and the maximum permeability are unacceptably decreased and the hardness and the coercive force are increased. Conversely, if the aluminum content is less than 0.03% by weight, the hardness or brittleness is not decreased and an improved plastic deformability cannot be obtained as desired for the purpose of the present invention. Accordingly, the aluminum content is preferably 0.1% to 1.0% by weight, more preferably 0.1% to 0.5% by weight. According to the present invention, the metal powdery mixture having the composition as mentioned above is subjected to powder metallurgy. Powder metallurgy is known as a method of preparing materials by compacting and sintering metal powder, but as known in the art, it is difficult to obtain a high density sintered alloy with a mixture of pure Fe powder and pure Co powder because Kirkendall voids are formed during sintering, due to the difference in the diffusion coefficients of Fe and Co. Nevertheless, this problem probably caused by a greater diffusion coefficient of iron to cobalt than the diffusion coefficient of cobalt to iron can be preferably solved according to the present invention when pre-alloyed Fe-rich Fe-Co powder and Co powder are used as the starting material. According to the present invention, the hardness or brittleness is also reduced by an addition of aluminum to the iron-cobalt alloy, as described above, to obtain an iron-cobalt alloy having a plastic deformability, and having magnetic property values which are satisfactory in practical application. Examples The present invention will now be further illustrated by, but is by no means limited to, the following Examples and Comparative Examples, in which all "parts" and "%" are by weight. Example 1 As the starting material powders, 55 to 62.5 parts of pre-alloyed Fe-20% Co powder (325 mesh or less), 37 to 37.5 parts of Co powder (400 mesh or less), and 0 to 8 parts of pre-alloyed Fe-50% Al powder (325 mesh or less) were used to prepare Fe/Co = 1 and 0 to 5.0% of Al, and further 0.75% of zinc stearate was added and mixed as a lubricant. These mixed powders were compacted into a shape 45 mm Φ x 35 mm Φ x 7 mm t under a compacting pressure of 4 t/cm², the lubricant was removed from the compacted powder at 400°C under a hydrogen atmosphere for 1 hour, and then pre-sintering was effected at 600 to 750°C, in accordance with the Al content under a hydrogen atmosphere for 1 hour, followed by recompacting under a pressure of 6 t/cm². Then, sintering was effected at 1400°C under a hydrogen atmosphere for 1 hour. The magnetic properties, Vickers hardness, and tensile strength of the samples obtained were measured, and the results are shown in Table 1, and Fig. 1 to Fig. 3, respectively. Al Content (wt%) Magnetic Properties Mechanical Properties Coercive Force Hc (A/m) Magnetization B 4k (T) Maximum Permeability µ m (mH/m) Vickers Hardness Hv (300) Tensile Strength (kgf/mm²) 0 160 2.16 4.1 225 20.3 0.1 160 2.16 4.1 202 20.8 0.2 160 2.16 4.0 203 21.0 0.3 160 2.16 4.0 202 21.0 0.4 165 2.15 4.0 201 21.4 0.5 168 2.15 4.0 202 21.8 1.0 180 2.14 3.9 208 22.4 2.0 200 2.13 3.8 214 24.8 3.0 240 2.07 3.5 221 25.6 4.0 248 1.98 2.7 223 26.4 5.0 276 1.88 2.0 228 27.0 Evaluation methods 1. Magnetic properties: using a ring test strip Φ45 x Φ35 x 7 t mm, the magnetization (B 4k ), coercive force (Hc), and maximum permeability (µ m ) were measured by a direct current magnetic hysteresis loop tracer under the application of a maximum magnetic field of 4 kA/m (50 Oe). 2. Mechanical properties: (1) Hardness test: the Vickers hardness under a load of 300 g was measured by a Leitz microhardness meter. (2) Tensile test: a test strip according to JIS Z2550 was prepared, and the tensile strength thereof was measured at a tensile speed of 1 mm/min. by an Instron type universal testing machine. Example 2 As the starting material, pre-alloyed Fe-20% Co powder (325 mesh or less), and Co powder (400 mesh or less), were used to prepare various Fe-Co soft magnetic materials having various cobalt contents, by powder metallurgy in the same manner as in Example 1. The magnetic properties and the mechanical properties of the resultant materials evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1 are shown in Table 2. Co Content (wt%) Magnetic Properties Mechanical Properties Coercive Force Hc (A/m) Magnetization B 4k (T) Maximum Permeability µ m (mH/m) Vickers Hardness Hv (300) Tensile Strength (kgf/mm²) 35 240 1.65 1.4 162 25.5 40 224 1.70 2.4 200 23.5 45 200 1.92 3.0 215 21.5 50 160 2.16 4.1 225 20.3 55 320 2.00 2.0 220 25.5 Example 3 As the starting material, pre-alloyed Fe-20% Co powder (325 mesh or smaller), Co powder (400 mesh or smaller), and pre-alloyed Fe-50% Al powder (325 mesh or smaller) were used to prepare various Fe-Co-Al soft magnetic materials having various aluminum contents, by powder metallurgy in the same manner as in Example 1. The magnetic properties and the mechanical properties of the resultant materials evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1 are shown in Tables 3 and 4. Al Content (wt%) Magnetic Properties Mechanical Properties Coercive Force Hc (A/m) Magnetization B 4k (T) Maximum Permeability µ m (mH/m) Vickers Hardness Hv (300) Tensile Strength (kgf/mm²) 0 160 2.16 4.1 225 20.3 0.03 160 2.16 4.1 220 20.5 0.05 160 2.16 4.1 209 20.5 0.08 160 2.16 4.1 204 20.8 Al Content (wt%) Magnetic Properties Mechanical Properties Coercive Force Hc (A/m) Magnetization B 4k (T) Maximum Permeability µ m (mH/m) Vickers Hardness Hv (300) Tensile Strength (kgf/mm²) 0 320 2.00 2.0 220 25.5 0.05 320 2.00 2.0 218 25.5 0.1 320 2.00 2.0 202 25.6 0.3 350 2.00 1.8 194 25.8 0.5 360 1.98 1.6 192 25.8 1.0 380 1.96 1.5 200 26.5 2.0 400 1.90 1.3 214 27.4 Example 4 As the starting material, pre-alloyed Fe-20% Co powder (325 mesh or smaller), Co powder (400 mesh or smaller), and pre-alloyed Fe-50% Al powder (325 mesh or smaller) or pre-alloyed Fe-52.3% V powder (325 mesh or smaller) were used to prepare various (50-½χ)% Fe-(50-½χ)% Co-χ% Al or V magnetic materials having various Al or V contents, by powder metallurgy in the same manner as in Example 1. The relationships between the magnetization (B 4k ) and the amounts of Al or V added are shown in Fig. 4. Example 5 The sintered alloy according to the present invention was applied in the magnetic circuit yoke for a print head in a 24-wire-dot matrix printer. The print head for the wire-dot matrix printers is shown in Figure 5. A print wire 1 was fixed to an armature 2 and a spring system 3 was normally retracted by a magnetic field circulated through a permanent magnet 4, a core 5, and a yoke 6. This magnetic field held the wire back. When an opposing magnetic field was induced by a coil 7, the energy stored in the retracted spring 3 caused the wire to shoot forward. Accordingly, if a higher magnetic field is possible, a stronger spring can be used, and this will result in a higher printing speed. Figure 6 shows correlations between a printing force versus wire stroke of the print head using the 0.3% Al-49.85% Fe-49.85% Co sintered alloy, compared to that of the Fe-3% Si sintered alloy. Fe-3% Si alloy is normally used for a magnetic circuit yoke and cores. The Fe-3% Si sintered alloy used in this study had a B 4k of 1.6 T, Hc of 35 A/m, and µ m of 22.5 mH/m. For each wire stroke, the printing force of the print head using the 0.3% Al-49.85% Fe-49.85% Co sintered alloy was larger than that of the print head using the Fe-3% Si sintered alloy. This is due to the higher magnetization of the 0.3% Al-49.85% Fe-49.85% Co sintered alloy. As a result, the printer was able to print at a printing speed of 110 cps for chinese character printing and 330 cps for alphanumeric printing, the highest printing speed known for a 24-wire-dot matrix printer.

Claims: An iron-cobalt type soft magnetic material consisting of 45 to 55% by weight of cobalt, 0.03 to 2.0% by weight of aluminium, and iron as the remainder. A material as claimed in claim 1, wherein the aluminium content is 0.1 to 1.0% by weight. A method of preparation of a material according to claim 1 or claim 2, which comprises compacting and sintering a mixture comprising cobalt powder, iron-rich iron-cobalt powder, and aluminium or iron-aluminium powder.

Inventors: IIKAWA TSUTOMU, YAMAGISHI WATARU, IIKAWA, TSUTOMU, YAMAGISHI, WATARU
Applicants: FUJITSU LTD, FUJITSU LIMITED
Application year: 1988
Main classification: H01F1
IPC codes: C22C38, C22C33, C22C1, H01F1, C22C19