Due to worldwide regulations on electric motor manufacturing, the energy efficiency of these devices has to be constantly improved. A solution may reside in the fact that high quality materials and adequate cutting technologies should be carefully chosen. The magnetic properties of non-oriented electrical steels are affected by the cutting methods, through induced plastic, and thermal stresses. There is also an important correlation between chemical composition and different magnetic properties. In this paper, we analyze different industrial grades of non-oriented electrical steels, used in electrical machines' core manufacturing as M800-65A, M800-50A, M400-65A, M400-50A, M300-35A, and NO20. The influence of the cutting methods on the normal magnetization curve, total energy loss and its components, and relative magnetic permeability is investigated in alternating currents using a laboratory single sheet tester. The chemical composition and grain size influence are analyzed and correlated with the magnetic properties. Special attention is devoted to the influence of the increased cutting perimeter on the energy losses and to the way it relates to each chemical alloy constituent. The final decision in what concerns the choice of the proper magnetic material and the specific cutting technology for the motor magnetic cores is imposed by the desired efficiency class and the specific industrial applications.
Keywords: chemical composition; cutting technology; energy loss separation; grain size; magnetic permeability; non-oriented electrical steels; soft magnetic materials.