High Density Sintered Materials in Automotive Magnetic Applications

The increasing use of electronics and computers in automobiles often call for actuators and/or control devices which include magnetic circuits. Applications appear in a wide range of areas such as safety (ABS system), fuel efficiency (electronic injection systems), comfort (suspension control), ignition (electronic ignition triggers) among others.

Each application requires different magnetic characteristics, which are fulfilled by a variety of alloys and manufacturing techniques. P/M materials compacted to high densities offer characteristics close to wrought or rolled materials with the cost and precision advantages traditionally associated to sintered components.

The paper presents the magnetic characteristics of a number of state-of-the-art high density (95-98% of solid) P/M materials and examples of applications in the automotive field.