TDK Orientation Control Technology for Rare Earth Magnets Used in Electric Vehicle Motors

Magnets are a very important part of electric vehicles and they are used in motors for most electric and hybrid cars. They are needed to create a magnetic field that repels the coil in the motor and makes it spin or rotate. This repulsion causes the wheels to move at high speeds and propels the vehicle forward.

There are many types of magnets that can be used in motors for electric and hybrid cars, but the strongest ones are rare earth magnets. These have higher remanence, coercivity, and energy production than other types of magnets, but they have lower Curie temperatures and are sensitive to heat.

The demand for Rare Earth (RE) magnets is increasing rapidly, primarily due to the growing use of electric vehicles and wind turbines. These applications are expected to grow about eightfold over the next 20 years, according to IHS Markit analyst Claudio Vittori.

In response to this demand, manufacturers are looking for new ways to produce and use RE magnets more sustainably. This requires improving the rare earth metals' manufacturing processes and developing less-toxic and flammable byproducts.

One way to do this is to increase the number of atoms within a magnet. Another is to improve the material's ability to reversal magnetization, which means changing the shape of the magnet to change its magnetic field.

These improvements are critical because permanent magnets rely on a strong magnetic field to generate repulsion and make the coil in the motor rotate at high speeds. Using more atoms within a magnet will require larger magnets that are stronger and heavier.

To address these challenges, TDK developed an orientation control technology for neodymium magnets that can change the shape of the magnet and its magnetic field to improve efficiency. This technology is a valuable tool for optimizing the performance of neodymium magnets in different motor designs and in a variety of environmental conditions.

This technology can be applied to a broad range of EV drive motors that need to have different shapes and orientated magnetic fields. It is also useful for the creation of motors with a more complex and diverse internal structure that would need to generate magnetic forces in a wide range of ways.

Neodymium is an extremely durable and powerful rare earth magnet that can be made into a range of shapes to suit the needs of various EV drive motors. This is important because the size and weight of motors need to be reduced for a more efficient EV drive. Moreover, neodymium magnets need to be shaped differently than conventional magnetics to accommodate the unique characteristics of the motors, and provide the proper magnetic field orientation for generating the necessary magnetic force more efficiently.

Neodymium is also the most environmentally friendly and sustainable rare earth magnet. It can be produced using a powder metallurgy process that uses less molten metal than other forms of permanent magnets. This method requires more energy, but it can reduce emissions and waste byproducts.