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Guideline for Rare Earth Magnets

Definition of Rare Earth Magnets?

Rare earth magnets are the type of permanent magnets that have a strong magnetic field and are manufactured from the elements of rare earth alloys. These magnets have extraordinary properties like durability and high magnetic strength. Rare Earth Magnets have many applications in different industries or factories due to their compact size. They are brittle and have a magnetic field strength of more than 1.2 teslas. The word in the name of Rare Earth magnet does not mean they are rare but also these are available in mixed and concentrated form in the crust of earth. The rare earth magnets are present in the crust of the earth mixed with different materials or elements. The solvent extraction process is a chemical reaction process used for the separation of rare earth magnets from other materials or elements.

Classification of Rare Earth Magnets:

Samarium cobalt (SmCo) and Neodymium (NdFeB) are the major types of the Rare Earth Magnets. These magnets have less capacity to resist the corrosion so a protective layer or coating is applied and prevent them from chipping or breaking. These magnets are available in the market in different grades with different physical and magnetic properties. The crystal structure and properties of the Neodymium Iron Boron magnets and samarium cobalt (SmCo) are almost and they belong to the same family of metals.

Samarium Cobalt Magnets

Samarium cobalt magnets are the type of rare earth magnets composed of cobalt and samarium elements. The magnetic strength of samarium cobalt magnets is lower than the Neodymium (NdFeB) magnets but can produce magnetic energy of a maximum of 40 MGOe. The extra coating is not required for samarium cobalt magnets as these have a natural capacity to resist corrosion. These magnets can be used in the applications where high temperature are involved and can sustain the magnetic properties up to the maximum temperature of 3000C. These are widely used in high environment conditions, aerospace industries, and manufacturing of military weapons.

NdFeB ( Neodymium Iron boron) Magnets:

Neodymium Iron Boron (NdFeB) magnets are the type of Rare Earth Magnets consisting of an alloy of boron, Iron, and Neodymium. The magnets have a trivial amount of praseodymium elements that help in increasing the specific properties. The sintering process (materials in powder form compressed and heated to convert into solid phase) is used to manufacture the Neodymium Iron Boron magnets.

These have the highest magnetic strength and can produce the magnetic energy of a maximum 50 MGoe. These magnets are heat resistant but have lower stability than the samarium magnets and can sustain their magnetic properties to a maximum temperature limit of 1500C. The curie temperature of the Neodymium Iron Boron magnets is 310 0C. These magnets show a decrease in magnetic performance for higher temperature conditions. The temperature stability properties of these magnets vary from grade to grade. The NdFeB magnets have less capacity to resist the corrosion so an extra coating of epoxy, zinc, or nickel is required. NdFeB magnets have applications in electronic instruments, speakers, motors, and hard disk drives.

They are also widely used in the Automotive sector like the development of ADAS ( Advanced driver-assistance systems) and actuators. In industries, apparatus for lifting like cranes and excavators, separation, and various manufacturing operations require magnetic field strength. Neodymium magnets have a higher capacity to maintain the atmosphere of a magnetic field when not undergoing the process of magnetization. These magnets are brittle so there are more risks of breaking or chipping type failure. While handling and storing these magnets, safety instructions should be followed because different poles attract and can cause danger or issues to the human or other electronic instruments.

Cerium Magnets:

              Cerium magnets are also rare earth magnets and are manufactured using the cerium and other elements in trivial amounts. These magnets are not popular and have very less applications as compared to the samarium and Neodymium rare earth magnets. The magnetic strength of these magnets is weaker than that of the Neodymium and samarium magnets. These magnets are used for applications where low cost and average magnetic strength are required.

 

Manufacturing of Rare Earth Magnets:

Process of bonding:

To produce the flexible magnets, the process of bonding is used in which resin ( polymer) is mixed with magnetic powder and then it is converted into required shape through molding. The flexible magnets manufactured through this process have applications flexibility and shape are the important requirements or conditions.

Sintering process:

The sintering process is widely used for the production of samarium (SmCo) magnets and Neodymium Iron Boron magnets. In this process, metals in powder form is compressed and converted into solid phase or mass.

HIP ( Hot isostatic pressing):

The hot isostatic pressing method is a process in which conditions of controlled high temperature and pressure are applied to enhance the magnetic properties and magnetic density.

Performance and Characteristics of Rare Earth Magnets.

The Rare earth magnets have versatile and exceptional properties as compared to the traditional magnets. These magnets have high energy density, high coercivity, and higher magnetic strength than the traditional alnico or ferrite magnets. Rare earth magnets maintain their magnetic strength in the small or compact sizes.

The performance of Neodymium magnets is exceptionally high they can produce stronger magnetic fields. For conditions of high temperature, samarium cobalt magnets are used and they can sustain the magnetic properties upto the temperature of 350 0C. The rare earth magnets are more durable than the traditional magnets like ferrite and alnico. The neodymium magnets are coated with epoxy or silver materials for resistance against corrosion.

Uses of Rare Earth Magnets

Rare Earth Magnets have a variety of applications in industries where operations or processes are governed by the latest and new versions of technologies. The high magnetic strength and compact size of the Neodymium magnets have made these very useful for devices like headphones, hard disk drives, electric motors, speakers, headphones even for the wind turbines. The applications where high thermal stability and reliability matters there the samarium cobalt magnets are generally preferred. These magnets of samarium and cobalt have different application in the development of medical apparatus, military equipment or weapons and even in the components of aerospace industries.

  • Medical Instruments: the rare earth magnets are widely used in the medical instruments or devices like Magnetic Resonance imaging (a process which produces pictures of parts of the human in detail by using the radio waves and magnetic field).
  • In Electronics devices: The rare earth magnets are commonly used in the electronic devices like hard disk drives, headphones, smartphones and other digital instruments due to high magnetic strength and compact size.
  • Energy generation machines: The rare earth magnets are used in the electric motors and turbines (wind) which are essential components of the energy generation systems. The generators convert the mechanical energy into electrical energy totally depend on the magnetic strength produced by the rare earth magnets. So rare earth magnets have a very active role in generation of energy.

Benefits of Rare Earth Magnets in comparison to the traditional magnets

The rare earth magnets have higher magnetic strength as compared to the traditional magnets like alnico and ferrite. These magnets have efficient and more compact designs for most of the conditions and requirements.

These magnets are very essential magnets for highly technical factories or industries due to their high capacity to retain the magnetism efficiently for a longer time in severe and unusual conditions or atmospheres.

Selection of suitable Rare Earth Magnet

The selection of suitable rare earth magnets is done on the basis of the required properties of magnets like temperature stability, strength, and area of the application. Each magnet has a different application according to its properties like the application where high-temperature conditions exist there the suitable rare earth magnet is samarium cobalt type while for higher magnetic strength and general conditions, the suitable rare earth magnet is Neodymium Iron Boron magnet (NdFeb).

Conclusion:

The rare earth magnets are stronger and have various applications in different components or devices like medical ( MRI machine), electronic ( laptops, speakers, smartphones, laptops, mini instruments, and sensors), energy conversion machines ( wind turbines, generators, and motors) and electric vehicles ( motors, the management system of battery and regenerative braking systems. These magnets have exceptional properties like high magnetic strength, high coercivity, high magnetic density, and compactness of size. Although rare earth magnets are cost-effective but cost of these magnets can vary according to the demands and requirements. The processes of mining, extraction, and manufacturing have prominent effects on the environment. So recycling and sustainability of these rare earth magnets are under consideration due to prominent impacts on the atmosphere or environment. Safety precautions are ensured during the use of the rare earth magnets as electronic devices can be damaged due to unexpected snap properties.

Future Horizons:

 Scientists and Researchers are working on the development and improvement in the properties of rare earth magnets so that these magnets can be used in new and latest technologies. As there are major environmental impacts caused by the mining and extraction process of the rare earth magnets, the researchers are working on converting the manufacturing and mining processes into sustainable processes. The Researchers and Scientists are also working on the recycling of rare earth magnets for a sustainable solution. There are discussions under consideration for manufacturing magnets that are more economical than the rare earth magnets.

The demand of rare earth magnets will be increased with the development and advancement of renewable energy machines and electric vehicles.

Why Choose Us?

Being the specialists in precise and accurate designing of the magnets, efficient manufacturing and highly experienced in distributing of magnets of exceptional quality, we are full-time manufacturers of the magnets. We can design and manufacture any type of rare earth magnet for applications like low-scale to highly technical projects according to the conditions and requirements of the clients and provide the quality service to the visitors or customers.

You can contact us at any time for guidance and order, our professionals from the Research and Development will provide the guidelines and support for the design and development of magnets.

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