Altering magnetic properties of iron filament PLA using magnetic field assisted additive manufacturing (MFAAM)

•MFAAM increases the susceptibility of Fe/PLA 3D printed filaments by more than a factor two.•The susceptibility of MFAAM Fe/PLA samples parallel to the print field is 2.7 larger than transverse to the print field.•The shape anisotropy of single strand 3D printed samples is observed by Vibrating Sample Magnetometry (VSM).•Shearing of the hysteresis curve is largest along the short axis of the filaments and smallest along the cylindrical axis. Three different samples of soft magnetic material Proto-pasta, a composite of iron and polylactic acid (PLA), were printed in the presence of a magnetic field and then measured using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) to inspect the effects printing in a magnetic field has on the samples’ magnetic properties. Multiple hysteresis measurements were taken with respect to the field angle for each sample printed in various fields to observe the changes in hysteresis loss and susceptibility. The Fe/PLA composites printed using Magnetic Field Assisted Additive Manufacturing (MFAAM) displayed a susceptibility approximately twice as large as the composites printed in zero field. Through varying field angle VSM measurements, the inspected susceptibility also displayed anisotropy, having a magnitude 2.7 times larger when measured along the print field.