Advanced magnets for an array of applications, including medicine and space missions, may now be printed out on a 3D printer. Technology for that comes from the Ural Federal University (UrFU) in Yekaterinburg.

For example, new magnets may be used to make robots that would assist surgeons in cleaning arteries and veins, or placing a stent inside a blood vessel.

Alexei Volegov, an associate professor at UrFU’s magnetism and magnetic nanomaterials chair, was quoted as saying that at this stage, the research team was deciding what kind of magnets to print out first:

“It could be samarium and cobalt based magnets good for submarines, spacecraft, ships or anything like those, operating in thermally volatile environments and requiring that magnets keep their properties unaltered. Or it could be neodymium, iron and boron based ones, operating at normal temperatures in smartphones, hard disk drives, or automotive engine sensors. For example, similar magnets are used in the most advanced Tesla electric motors.”