Joining of sintered NdFeB permanent magnet to steel using novel Zn-Sn-Bi-Nd alloy: Microstructure and soldering mechanism

•A novel Zn-Sn-Bi-Nd alloy was successfully developed for soldering steel to sintered NdFeB permanent magnet.•As Prolonging holding time or increasing soldering temperature, the shear strength increased first and then decreased.•The maximum shear strength reached 110.7 MPa at 430 °C for 30 s.