Application of 3D-printed magnets for magnetic position detection systems

The challenge in designing magnetic position and orientation detection systems lies in finding a one-to-one correspondence with reasonable slopes between the magnetic field at the sensor and a mechanical observable of interest. The shaping of complex permanent magnet structures is a powerful tool to generate desired characteristics of the magnetic field. While state of the art technologies are limited to simple structures or are subject to an expensive development and production process, recent advances in 3D printing of magnets, potentially, gives designers easy access to structures of arbitrary shape and magnetization. In this work a proposal for an improved 1D linear position scheme based on inhomogeneous magnetization is presented. The proposed magnet is then printed, experimentally tested and compared to the simulation demonstrating the vast potential of this new technology.