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IEC 60404-1
®
Edition 3.0 2016-10

INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD

Magnetic materials –
Part 1: Classification

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION

ICS 29.030 ISBN 978-2-8322-3671-0

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–2– IEC 60404-1:2016 © IEC 2016

CONTENTS

FOREWORD ........................................................................................................................... 4
1 Scope .............................................................................................................................. 6
2 Normative references ...................................................................................................... 6
3 Terms and definitions ...................................................................................................... 7
4 Magnetically soft materials (coercivity ≤1 kA/m) ............................................................... 8
4.1 Class A – Irons ....................................................................................................... 8
4.1.1 Reference documents ...................................................................................... 8
4.1.2 Chemical composition ...................................................................................... 8
4.1.3 Basis of subclassification ................................................................................. 8
4.1.4 Available forms ................................................................................................ 8
4.1.5 Physical characteristics ................................................................................... 8
4.1.6 Main applications ............................................................................................. 8
4.2 Class B – Low carbon mild steels ............................................................................ 9
4.2.1 Class B1 – Bulk material .................................................................................. 9
4.2.2 Class B2 – Flat material................................................................................... 9
4.3 Class C – Silicon steels ........................................................................................ 10
4.3.1 Class C1 – Bulk material ............................................................................... 10
4.3.2 Class C2 – Flat material ................................................................................ 11
4.4 Class D – Other steels .......................................................................................... 16
4.4.1 Class D1 – Bulk material ............................................................................... 16
4.4.2 Class D2 – Flat material ................................................................................ 18
4.4.3 Class D3 – Stainless steels ........................................................................... 18
4.5 Class E – Nickel-iron alloys .................................................................................. 19
4.5.1 Class E1 – Nickel content 70 % to 85 % ........................................................ 19
4.5.2 Class E2 – Nickel content 54 % to 68 % ........................................................ 20
4.5.3 Class E3 – Nickel content 40 % to 51 % ........................................................ 21
4.5.4 Class E4 – Nickel content 35 % to 40 % ........................................................ 22
4.5.5 Class E5 – Nickel content 29 % to 33 % ........................................................ 23
4.6 Class F – Iron-cobalt alloys ................................................................................... 24
4.6.1 Class F1 – Cobalt content 47 % to 50 % ........................................................ 24
4.6.2 Class F2 – Cobalt content 35 % ..................................................................... 24
4.6.3 Class F3 – Cobalt content 23 % to 30 % ........................................................ 25
4.7 Class G – Other alloys .......................................................................................... 26
4.7.1 Class G1 – Aluminium-iron alloys .................................................................. 26
4.7.2 Class G2 – Aluminium-silicon-iron alloys ....................................................... 27
4.8 Class H – Magnetically soft materials made by powder metallurgical
techniques ............................................................................................................ 27
4.8.1 Class H1 – Soft ferrites .................................................................................. 27
4.8.2 Class H2 – Magnetically soft sintered materials ............................................. 29
4.8.3 Class H3 – Powder composites ..................................................................... 29
4.9 Class I – Amorphous soft magnetic materials ........................................................ 30
4.9.1 General ......................................................................................................... 30
4.9.2 Class I1 – Iron-based amorphous alloys ........................................................ 30
4.9.3 Class I2 – Cobalt-based amorphous alloys .................................................... 31
4.9.4 Class I3 – Nickel-based amorphous alloys ..................................................... 32
4.10 Class J – Nano-crystalline soft magnetic materials ................................................ 33
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4.10.1 Reference document ...................................................................................... 33

4.10.2 Production process ........................................................................................ 33
4.10.3 Chemical composition .................................................................................... 33
4.10.4 Basis of subclassification ............................................................................... 33
4.10.5 Available forms .............................................................................................. 33
4.10.6 Physical characteristics ................................................................................. 33
4.10.7 Main applications ........................................................................................... 34
5 Magnetically hard materials (coercivity > 1 kA/m) .......................................................... 34
5.1 Class Q – Magnetostrictive alloys – Rare earth iron alloys (Class Q1) .................. 34
5.1.1 Reference document ...................................................................................... 34
5.1.2 Chemical composition .................................................................................... 34
5.1.3 Basis of subclassification ............................................................................... 34
5.1.4 Available forms .............................................................................................. 34
5.1.5 Physical characteristics ................................................................................. 34
5.1.6 Main applications ........................................................................................... 35
5.2 Class R – Magnetically hard alloys ........................................................................ 35
5.2.1 Class R1 – Aluminium-nickel-cobalt-iron-titanium (AlNiCo) alloys .................. 35
5.2.2 Class R3 – Iron-cobalt-vanadium-chromium (FeCoVCr) alloys ....................... 36
5.2.3 Class R5 – Rare earth cobalt (RECo) alloys .................................................. 36
5.2.4 Class R6 – Chromium-iron-cobalt (CrFeCo) alloys ......................................... 37
5.2.5 Class R7 – Rare earth-iron-boron (REFeB) alloys .......................................... 38
5.3 Class S – Magnetically hard ceramics – Hard ferrites (Class S1) .......................... 39
5.3.1 Reference document ...................................................................................... 39
5.3.2 Chemical composition and manufacturing method ......................................... 39
5.3.3 Basis of subclassification ............................................................................... 39
5.3.4 Available forms .............................................................................................. 39
5.3.5 Physical characteristics ................................................................................. 40
5.3.6 Main applications ........................................................................................... 40
5.4 Class T – Other magnetically hard materials – Martensitic steels (Class T1) ......... 40
5.4.1 Reference document ...................................................................................... 40
5.4.2 Composition .................................................................................................. 40
5.4.3 Basis of subclassification ............................................................................... 40
5.4.4 Available forms .............................................................................................. 40
5.4.5 Physical characteristics ................................................................................. 40
5.4.6 Main applications ........................................................................................... 41
5.5 Class U – Bonded magnetically hard materials...................................................... 41
5.5.1 General ......................................................................................................... 41
5.5.2 Class U1 – Bonded aluminium-nickel-cobalt-iron-titanium (AlNiCo)
magnets ........................................................................................................ 41
5.5.3 Class U2 – Bonded rare earth-cobalt (RECo) magnets .................................. 42
5.5.4 Class U3 – Bonded neodymium-iron-boron (REFeB) magnets ....................... 42
5.5.5 Class U4 – Bonded hard ferrite magnets ........................................................ 43
5.5.6 Class U5 – Bonded rare earth-iron-nitrogen magnets ..................................... 44
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INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION

____________

MAGNETIC MATERIALS –

Part 1: Classification

FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote
international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To
this end and in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications,
Technical Reports, Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC
Publication(s)”). Their preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested
in the subject dealt with may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-
governmental organizations liaising with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely
with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by
agreement between the two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all
interested IEC National Committees.
3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
Committees in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the technical content of IEC
Publications is accurate, IEC cannot be held responsible for the way in which they are used or for any
misinterpretation by any end user.
4) In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications
transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications. Any divergence
between any IEC Publication and the corresponding national or regional publication shall be clearly indicated in
the latter.
5) IEC itself does not provide any attestation of conformity. Independent certification bodies provide conformity
assessment services and, in some areas, access to IEC marks of conformity. IEC is not responsible for any
services carried out by independent certification bodies.
6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
7) No liability shall attach to IEC or its directors, employees, servants or agents including individual experts and
members of its technical committees and IEC National Committees for any personal injury, property damage or
other damage of any nature whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, or for costs (including legal fees) and
expenses arising out of the publication, use of, or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC
Publications.
8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of
patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

International Standard IEC 60404-1 has been prepared by IEC technical committee 68:
Magnetic alloys and steels.

This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition published in 2000 and constitutes a
technical revision.

This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous
edition:

a) Removal of all tables and values describing typical properties of the material to be
consistent with the aim of the document to be a classification and not a specification.
b) Enlargement of the Ni content for the classes E1 and E3.
c) Enlargement of the Co content for the classes F3.
d) Addition of a new class: U5 bonded rare earth-iron-nitrogen magnets.
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IEC 60404-1:2016 © IEC 2016 –5–

The text of this standard is based on the following documents:

CDV Report on voting

68/533/CDV 68/555/RVC

Full information on the voting for the approval of this International Standard can be found in
the report on voting indicated in the above table.

This document has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.

A list of all parts in the IEC 60404 series, published under the general title Magnetic
materials, can be found on the IEC website.

The committee has decided that the contents of this document will remain unchanged until the
stability date indicated on the IEC website under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in the data related to
the specific document. At this date, the document will be

• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.

A bilingual version of this publication may be issued at a later date.

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MAGNETIC MATERIALS –

Part 1: Classification

1 Scope

This part of IEC 60404 is intended to classify commercially available magnetic materials.

The term "magnetic materials" denotes substances where the application requires the
existence of ferromagnetic or ferrimagnetic properties.

In this document, the classification of magnetic materials is based upon the generally
recognized existence of two main groups of products:

• soft magnetic materials (coercivity ≤1 000 A/m);

• hard magnetic materials (coercivity >1 000 A/m).

Within these main groups, the classification when appropriate recognizes the following
characteristics:

• the main alloying element and the metallurgical state and physical properties of the
material;
• when possible and convenient, the relationship between these characteristics is identified.

A classification by specific areas of application cannot be applied to all materials because

different materials can very often be used for the same application depending on the
characteristics required.

2 Normative references

The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their
content constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition
cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including
any amendments) applies.

IEC 60050-121, International Electrotechnical Vocabulary – Part 121: Electromagnetism

IEC 60050-151, International Electrotechnical Vocabulary – Part 151: Electrical and magnetic
devices

IEC 60050-221, International Electrotechnical Vocabulary – Chapter 221: Magnetic materials

and components

IEC 60401-3, Terms and nomenclature for cores made of magnetically soft ferrites – Part 3:
Guidelines on the format of data appearing in manufacturers catalogues of transformer and
inductor cores

IEC 60404-2, Magnetic materials – Part 2: Methods of measurement of the magnetic

properties of electrical steel sheet and strip by means of an Epstein frame

IEC 60404-3, Magnetic materials – Part 3: Methods of measurement of the magnetic

properties of magnetic sheet and strip by means of a single sheet tester
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IEC 60404-1:2016 © IEC 2016 –7–

IEC 60404-4, Magnetic materials – Part 4: Methods of measurement of d.c. magnetic

properties of iron and steel

IEC 60404-6, Magnetic materials – Part 6: Methods of measurement of the magnetic

properties of magnetically soft metallic and powder materials at frequencies in the range
20 Hz to 200 kHz by the use of ring specimens

IEC 60404-7, Magnetic materials – Part 7: Method of measurement of the coercivity of

magnetic materials in an open magnetic circuit

IEC 60404-8-1, Magnetic materials – Part 8-1: Specifications for individual materials –
Magnetically hard materials

IEC 60404-8-3, Magnetic materials – Part 8-3: Specifications for individual materials – Cold-
rolled electrical non-alloyed and alloyed steel sheet and strip delivered in the semi-processed
state

IEC 60404-8-4, Magnetic materials – Part 8-4: Specifications for individual materials – Cold-
rolled non-oriented electrical steel strip and sheet delivered in the fully-processed state

IEC 60404-8-5, Magnetic materials – Part 8: Specifications for individual materials –

Section Five: Specification for steel sheet and strip with specified mechanical properties and
magnetic permeability

IEC 60404-8-6, Magnetic materials – Part 8-6: Specifications for individual materials – Soft
magnetic metallic materials

IEC 60404-8-7, Magnetic materials – Part 8-7: Specifications for individual materials –Cold-
rolled grain-oriented electrical steel strip and sheet delivered in the fully processed state

IEC 60404-8-8, Magnetic materials – Part 8: Specifications for individual materials –

Section 8: Specification for thin magnetic steel strip for use at medium frequencies

IEC 60404-8-9, Magnetic materials – Part 8: Specifications for individual materials –

Section 9: Standard specification for sintered soft magnetic materials

IEC 60404-8-10, Magnetic materials – Part 8-10: Specifications for individual materials –
Magnetic materials (iron and steel) for use in relays

IEC 60404-10, Magnetic materials. Part 10: Methods of measurement of magnetic properties
of magnetic sheet and strip at medium frequencies

ISO 4948-1, Steels – Classification – Part 1: Classification of steels into unalloyed and alloy
steels based on chemical composition

3 Terms and definitions

For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in IEC 60050-121,
IEC 60050-151, IEC 60050-221 and in the product standards of the IEC 60404-8 series apply.

ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following
addresses:

• IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia.org/

• ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp