Magnetostrictive Terfenol-D alloys printed via material extrusion

high-energy ball milling and subsequently printed onto stainless steel substrates using a commercial material extrusion (MEX) system. The printed structures were sintered using either conventional thermal treatment or electric field-assisted sintering. While thermal sintering promoted particle coalescence, the severe thermal expansion mismatch at the interface weakened adhesion and led to delamination, whereas electric field-assisted sintering achieved strong diffusion bonding. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the MEX process produced highly dense Terfenol-D thin films on stainless steel substrates, and X-ray diffraction confirmed the preservation of the alloy composition, indicating minimal oxidation or contamination. These findings confirm that material extrusion is a promising route to streamline the fabrication and integration of magnetostrictive devices.