Magnets

Raw materials

1. Neodymium

2. Iron

3. Boron

Process

1. Neodymium, iron, and boron are heated to melting in a vacuum (vacuum prevents any chemical reaction between air and the melting materials that might contaminate the final metal alloy).

2. Once the metal has cooled and solidified, it is broken up and crushed into small pieces. The small pieces are then ground into a fine powder in a ball mill.

3. The powdered metal is placed in a mold and a magnetic force is applied to the powdered material to line up the powder particles. 

4. The powder is pressed from the top and bottom with mechanical rams.

5. The compressed "slug" of powdered metal is removed from the die and placed in an oven. The process of heating compressed powdered metals to transform them into fused, solid metal pieces is called sintering.

6. The material is cooled down slowly in controlled, step-by-step temperature increments.

7. The sintered material then undergoes a second controlled heating and cooling process known as annealing which removes any residual stresses within the material and strengthens it.

8. The material is then given a protective coating to seal the surfaces.

9. Up to this point, the material is just a piece of compressed and fused metal. Even though it was subjected to a magnetic force during pressing, that force didn't magnetize the material, it simply lined up the loose powder particles. To turn it into a magnet, the piece is placed between the poles of a very powerful electromagnet and oriented in the desired direction of magnetization. The electromagnet is then energized for a period of time. The magnetic force aligns the groups of atoms, or magnetic domains, within the material to make the piece into a strong permanent magnet.

 

Product

Magnet

Used for

Picking up magnetic items (iron nails, staples, tacks, paper clips), hold notes on a refrigerator door

 

Production facility

Rockingham, WA

 

Export

Belmopan, Belize