Sintering of PrCo5magnets with Pr-Co alloy addition

A systematic study of the sintering conditions for PrCo
5
was carried out, using as the liquid-phase sintering aid an alloy that contained 69 weight percent (wt. %) Pr and 29 wt. % Co. The dependence of the permanent-magnet properties on the grinding time of PrCo
5
was evaluated. Different weight ratios of PrCo
5
and the Pr-Co additive were tried and various sintering temperatures and times were studied. It was found that milling time and weight ratio are factors of prime importance for successful sintering. Short milling time and relatively coarse particle size appear to be essential. Magnets sintered under optimum conditions have energy products of nearly 17 MG-Oe, remanence values up to 8500 G, and intrinsic coercive forces up to 9470 Oe. Details of the process and the results are reported.