Benefits of Soft Magnetic Composites

An induction coil does not automatically put its field where the work is. Soft magnetic composites (SMCs) give the magnetic flux a preferred path, so engineers can place heat where a part needs it and keep it away from everything else. The ASM Handbook Volume 4C lists the resulting benefits: better coil and process efficiency, improved power factor, lower coil current, less unintended heating of machine components and workpiece areas, precise heat pattern control and lower external fields.

In most applications several of these benefits occur at once. The pages below group them by what matters most to the user.

• Efficiency. Less coil current, lower losses in busswork and matching components, and faster heating at the same power.
• Heat pattern. Heated fillets, protected shoulders and sharper transition zones.
• Shielding. Protection for frames, chambers, sensors and the people around the equipment.
• Devices and sensors. Where SMCs compare with laminations and ferrites, and where the field-control principles reach beyond heating.

How to use this section

Start with the benefit closest to your problem. If a coil runs hot or slow, read the efficiency page. If a part is over- or under-heated in the wrong places, read the heat pattern page. If a frame, chamber or sensor is picking up stray field, read the shielding page. The device and sensor page explains how SMCs compare with ferrites and electrical steel laminations. The ferrites vs. SMCs comparison covers material choice directly.

Because the benefit depends on coil style, process and part, simulation is the most reliable way to forecast it. Fluxtrol’s engineers can model your coil before you commit to material.

Not sure which benefit your process can capture? Contact Fluxtrol and the engineering team can evaluate your coil, or review the grades on the SMC products page .