What Materials Are Used to Produce Cores?
As we know, the materials used for producing cores are magnetic materials, but not all substances can exhibit magnetism—only ferromagnetic materials can. In nature, only three pure elements or their alloys show ferromagnetism: Fe (Iron), Co (Cobalt), and Ni (Nickel). Let’s take a closer look at the materials commonly used to produce cores:
- Electrical Pure Iron (Fe)
- Silicon Steel (Fe+Si)
- Iron-Aluminum Alloy (Fe+Al)
- Iron-Silicon-Aluminum Alloy (Fe+Si+Al)
- Iron-Cobalt Alloy (Fe+Co)
- Iron-Nickel Alloy (Fe+Ni), also known as Permalloy
- Ferrite (Manganese-Zinc Ferrite Mn-ZnFe2O4)
- Nickel-Zinc Ferrite (Ni-ZnFe2O4)
- Amorphous (Fe+Si+B)
- Nanocrystalline (Fe+Si+B+Cu+Nb)
As seen above, various combinations of these three elements, along with other metals, non-metals, or rare earth elements, can be used to create different alloy magnetic materials. The earliest electrical pure iron had a drawback: when the core was used for an extended period, its iron loss would increase. Later, it was discovered that adding silicon to steel could improve the material's resistivity and maximum permeability, reduce coercivity, minimize hysteresis and eddy current losses (iron loss), and enhance the time stability of the steel.
Today, Leimai’s nanocrystalline magnetic cores and nanocrystalline ribbons are recognized for their exceptional performance. With low iron loss, low hysteresis loss, excellent permeability, and long-term stability, they have become crucial materials for high-efficiency electrical equipment. These products are ideal for advanced transformers, inductors, and other electromagnetic devices.
