Permanent Vs. Electromagnets Lifting Magnets

Did you know that there are two types of lifting magnet? Permanent magnets and the electromagnets are the two types of lifting magnets used for various applications. First of all, lifting magnet is a type of electromagnet, used to hold or move metal objects while in contact with the magnet. It is also known as holding magnet as it come in large shapes such as circular, rectangular, or specially shaped magnet used for handling pig iron, scrap iron, billets, castings, rails and other metallic materials.

So, let us discuss about some of the bread differences in their purpose and understand lifting magnet better:

Permanent Magnets are permanent which means that it uses a permanently magnetized material to be able to build up the magnetic field. It is used in workshops or work sites generally turn on and off with the use of a lever. Electromagnets, on the other hand, employ electricity to help charge the magnet and be able to hold the material to the surface of the magnet.

Permanent magnets are also good in handling flat materials and rounded parts which can weigh of about 2,200 pounds. These are self-contained lifters and easy to move around to various work sites. The only disadvantage of this type of magnet is that they have a restricted lifting capacity.

Electromagnets are made to run on a DC current, which needs a rectifier. These magnets uses energized electrical coil wrapped around a steel core to align particles within ferrous materials in a common direction, thus it forms a magnetic field. Contrary to the permanent magnets, drawback for electromagnets is that they require a constant power source, depending on its use. In case of a power failure, it can be catastrophic.

Choosing the right type of lifting magnets is very important, you must choose the magnets as per your application. The wrong type of magnet can be extremely dangerous and possibly even deadly. So keeping in mind the properties of the magnets, one should be careful to choose permanent magnets and electromagnets.

Little Known Ways To Make The Most Out Of Lifting Magnets

Since, there are two types of lifting magnets are used in the industries to move the heavy loads and those are firstly permanent magnets and secondly the electromagnets. Where the Permanent magnets make use of the permanently magnetized material for generating the magnetic field and the Neodymium magnetic lifters are usually used in work sites and off through a lever.

1.       The lifting process using slings and chains has been replaced by the advance technique. It increases the overall productivity by allowing a single person to do lots of heavy work.

2.       The technique of using a lifting magnet like Neodymium cylinder magnets or Neodymium disc magnets is all about to move the heavy load safely. It should be done with proper specified and applied equipment.

3.       Neodymium magnets is great for handling flat and round parts material weighing up to 2,200 pounds. It is very convenient and can be moved with no difficulty to different work sites as it carries the disadvantage of restricted lifting capacity.

4.       Magnetic lifters provide you a better working condition over the traditional fashion in regard to both quality and labor. Neodymium block magnets used in lifting technology can ease you work. In order to attach the eyebolts to make it moving, it eliminates the need for tapping and drilling holes in parts.

Electromagnets need external power to run. Lifting magnets makes use of electricity to get the Neodymium magnets charge and hold the material with the magnetic field. After the work is done in certain cases the holes need to be filled again while the surface needs to be refinished, with the cost of extra labor and more expense to the product. Also to include more, Neodymium magnets can save your valuable time by removing blocking and slinging process.

Does Lifting Magnets Have To Follow Safety Measures?

The world is developing and thus, people have much more access towards knowledge rather easy access. If anyone is planning to make an investment, they have a lot of access towards gathering the information about the particular subject and thus, people who are interested in lifting magnets will find the article helpful. A lifting magnet is an electromagnet designed to pick up or lift metal objects. These magnets vary widely in size and can be as small as a credit card or as large as a twin-sized bed.

You can find various kinds of lifting magnets in the existing market. The most common ones are designed to lift heavy metal objects weighing several tons. Using a magnet to retrieve metal shards from a construction site can help prevent injury and damage to vehicle tires. Usually, larger lifting magnet is operated hung from a chain on a crane that is able to dangle the magnet into the location necessary to retrieve the desired object. While operating a lifting magnet, some of the guidelines must be followed about the materials being lifted assist in creating a safe operating environment around the lifting magnet.

Factors That Affect Lifting Magnet Operation:

Composition: While you are buying the lifting magnet, ensure that it is made using steel. Alloys may not be as magnetic as low-carbon steel.

Configuration: Use a straight edge to check flatness as the material requires being as much flat as possible. You should avoid materials with any waves or bows and dunnage between pieces could cause the material to sag at some points.

Weight: Verify the weight of the part before using lifting magnets check the weight by measuring through the formula: Steel weighs 0.238 lbs. per cubic inch. To determine the total weight of a steel part, use this formula: Length (in.) x Width (in.) x Thickness (in.) x 0.283 lb./in.3.

Thickness: Since thinner materials can’t accept all the lines of force, thinner materials are more challenging to lift than the thicker ones. The thinner materials cause reduced capacity and it is not a linear function. For example, if a magnet’s full capacity is needed to pick up 1-in.-thick material, that doesn’t mean that half the magnet’s capacity can pick up 0.5-in.-thick material.

Surface Condition: If the material is filled with elements of rust, dirt, ice, snow, oil or paint, it will create air gap and thus, a weaker pulling force. Make sure the full surface of the magnet is in contact with the material. The material surface must be as clean as any cutout in the piece being lifted affects the magnet’s lifting capacity requires complete exposure.

Many times lifting magnets can lose strength, depending on the magnet’s characteristics, thus, you need to ensure that all the properties match with your requirement and then only buy the lifting magnets. Permanent magnets do not lose their strength unless they are physically damaged (dropped and broken), subjected to extreme heat (200 degrees F), or subjected to a high electric field, such as welding.

Why Is Samarium Cobalt Magnets So Popular?

Rare Earth Magnets are strong permanent magnets which is made using alloys of rare earth elements. These are the strongest type of permanent magnets producing significantly stronger magnetic fields than other types such as ferrite or alnico magnets. Samarium Cobalt being one of the two Rare Earth Magnets is also known as SmCo5. The magnetic fields produced of Samarium Cobalt magnets ranges from 0.8 to 1.15 Tesla.

Ideal for very high temperature applications, Samarium Cobalt maintain their magnetic strength at higher temperatures. These are sintered more expensive than Neodymium Iron Boron. SmCo5 are not as high in energy as compared to Neodymium magnets, but they excel in high temperature conditions where Neodymium magnets do not. It is by far the best product when power and high temperature resistance is required.

SmCo magnets are highly durable as it displays excellent corrosion resistance, to the point where you don’t even need any corrosion protection. Temperature stability is excellent, thus, it can operate in conditions up to 500C without suffering any magnetization loss. Magnetization integrity is high in these magnets, as they resist demagnetization handily.

They are regularly assembled into products using epoxies where the surface is properly prepared (clean and dry). It is popularly used in the automotive, aerospace, marine, medical, military, industrial automation and various other industries where high performance is the requirement. We can offer you a variety of grades and shapes of SmCo magnets, it can be shaped and sized in any configuration as you require though the maximum grade of a SmCo magnet is 28 MGOe.

The vast majority of magnetic separators use the sintered Rare Earth Material in the same form as the as it is and produces a higher magnetic field. We recommend you to ensure the production process of Samarium Cobalt magnets even by us as true value for money is best for the application.

How To Start With Lifting Magnets?

Magnetic lifters are naturally versatile and it works in the roughest manner. It is used for moving a variety of ferrous metals ranging from small bundles of rod or scrap to large, heavy blocks. Lifting magnets are great for advantages related to both quality and labor. Using these techniques, you can improve overall productivity by allowing a single person to lift a load of metals. It lessens the labor and time of the work which otherwise you might have needed two or more people the old way.

Magnetic lifters whether electric or permanent have the rated capacity mentioned on the nameplate. The trick is to move the load safely, and to do that the equipment needs to be properly specified and applied. If the magnet is being used on a material that is thinner than the material it was rated on, the capacity will be reduced. It might be used in multiples on beams to augment the amount capable of being lifted.

Larger magnets present on overhead cranes are dedicated to the crane mechanism and its range of movement. When loads are being lifted and rotated to a shear position, one should note that the magnet's capacity drops to about one-fourth of what the nameplate states. When multiple magnets are used to lift loads, the magnets should be spaced evenly to carry the whole load. These systems are used to deal with single or multiple plate, whether in storage areas.

Remotely operated lifting magnets can be controlled through a pendant switch or a remote control transmitter. Given that magnets operate on DC, a combination AC to DC rectifier and magnet controller is mounted on the crane. This device converts the crane power from AC to DC and turns the magnet on and off. Also, one must be very careful about the application because the materials tend to slide when subjected to shear forces.