Effect of amorphous powder blend on the magnetic and mechanical properties of die-upset Nd–Fe–B magnets

•The magnetic and mechanical properties of die-upset Nd–Fe–B magnets with different amorphous powder contents have been investigated.•The intrinsic coercivity and rectangularity of demagnetization curves declined with increasing amorphous powder content.•The maximum Vickers hardness and fracture toughness of die-upset Nd–Fe–B magnets were obtained at the amorphous powder content of 10 wt%.•The addition of amorphous powder can inhibit the grain growth of die-upset Nd–Fe–B magnets.

The effect of amorphous powder blend on the magnetic and mechanical properties of die-upset Nd–Fe–B magnets has been investigated. The results showed that the intrinsic coercivity and rectangularity of demagnetization curves declined with increasing amorphous powder content. The Vickers hardness of die-upset Nd–Fe–B magnets first declined, and then increased with increasing amorphous powder content. The maximum Vickers hardness and fracture toughness of die-upset Nd–Fe–B magnets were obtained at the amorphous powder content of 10 wt%, but the excessive amorphous powder made the crystallographic alignment and magnetic properties of die-upset Nd–Fe–B magnets decline sharply. The microstructure shows that the addition of amorphous powder can inhibit the grain growth of die-upset Nd–Fe–B magnets.