Magnets are powerful yet frequently overlooked materials that make industries functional. It's crucial to understand their uses, care, and types to make sure that your business remains efficient, avoids issues, and makes use of new opportunities. Check out this article as we discuss 8 things you didn't know about magnets!
Once you hear the word magnet, your mind might take you to the refrigerator at your house filled with family photos or perhaps a powerful industrial magnet carrying a heavy scrap metal. However, magnets are far more interesting and useful than people realise. They often work silently behind the scenes in a lot of processes, equipment, and products.
While their sizes might be small, their work is pretty mighty. From healthcare to logistics to retail displays, magnets can make things stick both literally and figuratively. You're more dependent on magnets than you realize if you're a manufacturer, service provider, or even a distributor. Let's discuss 8 things you didn't know about magnets to help you run your business efficiently!
Magnets Lose Their Strength With Time
Unfortunately, magnets are not permanent. They lose strength over time. There are all sorts of reasons that magnets lose their potency-from too much bumping to too much heat to being stored improperly. Even neodymium, the strongest and rarest earth magnet, loses its potency when not used correctly.
Many companies fail to realize the slow decline in power and think of magnets as a one-time expense. However, the second they start losing power, systems fail. Motors no longer operate correctly, sensors do not work, parts do not hold as they once did, etc.
Understanding a magnet's ability to work requires monitoring over time, which means occasionally removing and replacing aging magnets before they cause an entire operation to halt. This is avoidable with protective coatings, avoiding high heat levels, staying away from magnetic interference, and a good maintenance schedule.
Not All Magnets Are The Same
There are many kinds of magnets. For instance, neodymium magnets are small yet powerful. Ceramic (ferrite) magnets are weak yet cheap. Samarium cobalt magnets are expensive yet powerful, heat and corrosion-resistant.
Think about where you will use the magnets and for what purpose to decide what types of magnets will best suit your needs. New magnets are great for applications in electronics or small machinery because their size compared to strength is ideal. For more industrial applications in areas of high heat, ferrite or samarium cobalt would be a better choice, as their strengths outdo other magnets. For example, a case study in Hong Kong showed a successful operation using teleoperated magnetic gastroscopy in a porcine model, which shows the great potential of remote surgeries.
Understanding the types of magnets, their strengths, and weaknesses empowers educated decisions, saving companies costly errors and failures through application while maximizing effectiveness. Using the right magnet for the right purpose increases effectiveness and ensures systems and components work for as long as they should-this increases how smoothly operations can run.
Some Magnets Can Be Flexible
Some magnets are quite flexible. They are created by combining magnetic powder and rubber or plastic. This generates a product that is moldable, lightweight, and can even be cut with scissors. They serve branding, packaging, display, and labeling needs effectively. Flexible magnets adhere easily without tools.
You can use such magnet types in an office environment as well to organize your materials and provide a creative way to communicate without pins or tacks. These magnets are a clever solution in contrast to the typical rigid magnets found in many places because these are cut or rolled to fit customized designs and small spaces.
Magnets Help Generate Electricity
Once a particular magnet moves closer to a coil of wire, it tends to produce an electric current. This phenomenon is known as electromagnetic induction and is responsible for powering most of the machines we depend on.
Motors, turbines, and generators commonly utilize this concept. Most of the equipment that's used in industries, including conveyor belts to HVAC systems, relies heavily on magnetic fields to operate. While this particular principle might sound like something that popped straight out of a science lab, it's a foundational concept in energy production. Once businesses recognize this phenomenon, it can help them identify crucial opportunities.
It'll help them with energy efficiency. Once you upgrade outdated magnetic motors, invest in far newer technologies, or explore different magnetic solutions in product design, you can take your business toward long-term savings and enhanced overall performance. Therefore, if you can strategize and use these magnets efficiently, you can generate electricity or save it.
Rare Earth Magnets Are Huge In Global Trade
Neodymium magnets are classified as rare-earth magnets. Rare earth magnets are utilized in some of today's most advanced developments-mobile phones and satellites, cars and headphones, even wind turbines. They tend to have strong magnetic forces in small amounts. However, the importance of these magnets can also make them a challenge for global supply chains.
Most of the rare earth is mined and processed in a couple of major regions, the primary one being China. Therefore, this centralized production means that availability and global prices are open to being affected by shipping delays, trade policies, or political developments. Businesses that rely on rare earth magnets are required to plan further ahead to avoid such issues.
You can reduce the likelihood even further by using reliable vendors, staying updated with the trending developments in magnetic materials, and spreading out vendors. Many companies also keep strategic reserves or explore other alternative magnetic materials that can offer a far more predictable supply. It's always best to research other magnetic materials that might be gaining more momentum.
It's important to note that synthetic or hybrid magnets might offer comparable performance in the future with much fewer supply chain vulnerabilities.
Magnets Getting Used In Medicine
Maybe this is news to you, but magnets are changing the world of medicine. Moreover, tiny magnetic particles are being built to help transport medicine directly to targeted areas in the body, enhancing the process of drug delivery. This method enhances effectiveness while also reducing the various side effects. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology, which you have heard of, also depends on powerful magnets to create detailed, internal scans.
Businesses working in healthcare, wellness, or biotechnology can use the new opportunities coming up with the help of this connection between medicine and magnetism. Manufacturers, innovators, and suppliers who understand magnetic technologies might find themselves jumping at this exciting revolution, waiting to make use of this opportunity to expand their business.
Wrongful Magnet Storing Can Be Risky
Poor magnet storage is hazardous and inconvenient. This is due to strong magnets attracting each other so violently that they can cause injuries, dings, or breaks. If you store them close to data storage or electronic devices, then they can cause some interference or even data loss. They can also easily affect crucial devices like pacemakers.
When it comes to warehouse or production environments, it's essential to store magnets securely. You can avoid accidents by utilizing spacers or dividers, following basic safety measures, and labeling containers. Once you're shipping, it's also crucial to follow proper regulations. Magnets that are wrongly packaged might be flagged as dangerous goods.
Not only this, but in everyday office or retail settings as well, these magnets can accidentally interfere with the electronics that might be placed close by. Therefore, you can set up simple storage protocols to ensure safety and overall performance, protecting people and your investments. This is often a step that businesses can easily overlook, but it's crucial.
Magnets Can Be Customized To Fit Businesses
Fortunately, the ability to manufacture magnets today means that magnets can be created for nearly any use. Magnets can be customized in many aspects, from shape and size to temperature tolerances, strengths, and platings. Custom magnets can solve complex challenges, such as fitting into unique product designs or performing under extreme conditions.
Heat-resistant materials, flexible magnet constructions, or waterproof coatings can easily offer unique solutions that usual magnets just can't. Companies that are developing new products or seeking to upgrade their pre-existing designs can use these custom magnets to enhance performance, create a premium experience for their users, and increase the magnets' durability.
Custom magnetic solutions are also highly useful in wearable technology, consumer electronics, and smart packaging. It's also a great option to work with magnet specialists to create custom options to make sure that your business goals perfectly align with your technical requirements.
Conclusion
Though tiny and seemingly minute, magnets are powerful little devices responsible for much of the effective functioning and efficiency of today's industrialized world. They operate engines, generate green energy, transform medical devices, enhance everyday items, and so much more. Magnets are more involved in people's lives than they realize.
Businesses need to have a deeper understanding of magnets since this can open doors to better material choices, smart innovation, and enhanced efficiency. Companies can turn these tools into powerful advantages simply by staying in the loop. The more you understand how a magnet works and where they fit in your operation, the more you benefit.