We are familiar with the wonderful material which is capable of attracting other magnetic materials. It is known as the magn et. Magnet is of two types: permanent magnet, temporary magnet, and electromagnets. In this session, let us know in detail rare earth magnets which are one of the types of permanent magnets.
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What are Rare Earth Magnets?
Rare-earth magnets are permanent magnets having a composition of alloys manufactured from rare earth elements (mostly elements from lanthanide series, and alloys).
They were developed in the 1970s and 1980s and are the strongest types of permanent magnets. They produce magnetic fields that are quite stronger than other types of magnets like alnico and ferrite magnets. The rare earth magnets have a field strength of more than 1.4 Tesla, whereas ceramic and ferrite magnets have fields of 0.5 to 1.0 Tesla.
There are two types of rare earth magnets, and they are neodymium magnets and samarium–cobalt magnets.
Some other types of magnetostrictive rare earth magnets such as the Terfenol-D find applications in the audio systems.
- Rare earth magnets tend to be highly fragile and also would be exposed to corrosion, so they would be typically coated or plated to protect them from breaking or crumbling into powder.
- The term “rare earth” could be confusing as these metals are not particularly rare or precious; they are usually abundant in plenty like tin or lead.
Types of Rare Earth Magnets
There are two types of rare earth magnets:
- Samarium-cobalt
- Neodymium
Samarium-cobalt and neodymium rare earth magnets have different strengths as well as magnetic and physical properties.
Samarium-Cobalt Magnets
- These are the first group of rare earth magnets discovered, which are less used unlike neodymium magnets owing to their cost being higher and magnetic field strength being weaker.
- The samarium-cobalt has a Curie temperature being higher and has a higher resistance to oxidation, but sintered samarium-cobalt magnets are fragile and vulnerable to chipping and cracking, and might crumble when exposed to thermal shock.
Advantages of Samarium-Cobalt Magnets
- They possess high corrosion resistance.
- They exhibit high-temperature stability.
- They have a high coercive force
Disadvantages of Samarium-Cobalt Magnets
- They are costly.
- They have low mechanical strength.
Neodymium Magnets:
- These types of magnets were discovered during the 1980s and are the most affordable and strongest type of rare-earth magnet. They are manufactured out of an alloy of iron, neodymium and boron, termed by the abbreviation NIB.
- Neodymium magnets have a higher coercivity. They are of use in various applications such as electric motors for jewelry clasps, hard disk drives, and magnetic hold-downs.
Advantages of Rare Earth Neodymium Magnets
- They have a high coercive force
- They are the strongest magnet in the market today
- They possess very high resistance to demagnetization
- They are the strongest magnetic material in the market today
Disadvantages of Rare Earth Neodymium Magnets
- They are moderately priced
- They possess a low mechanical strength
- They exhibit a moderate temperature stability
- They possess low corrosion resistance
How are Rare Earth Magnets Made?
- Rare earth magnets are made from the rare earth elements whose atomic numbers are between 57 and 71.
The most common and strongest rare earth magnet is obtained from the alloys of neodymium, boron, and iron. - To make rare earth magnets, solid ingots of neodymium, boron, and iron are ground into powder. This process of making a rare earth magnet consists of three phases.
- In the first phase, the ingots are crushed into coarse particles mechanically, in the second phase they are ground into finer particles. In the final phase, these particles are jet-milled into spherical particles with few micron diameters.
- In jet milling, high-pressure gas is used to make particles smaller as well as to maintain a specific size.
This powder is transferred to steel moulds to get the shape of the magnet. - Rubber moulds are used for neodymium alloy and this process is known as isostatic pressing.
- The magnetic properties are provided by applying a magnetic field of the range 4 Tesla.
- Liquid phase sintering is used after applying the magnetic field and the temperature used is 1000 °C.
- The final procedure is to coat the rare earth magnets based on their applications. There are many choices such as gold, nickel, zinc, and tin. But the most common is epoxy resin.
Uses of Rare Earth Magnets
Common Applications:
Rare-earth magnets have some common applications that are as listed below:
- Bicycle dynamos
- Permanent magnet motors present in cordless tools
- Magnetic resonance imaging devices
- Audio headphones
- High-performance AC servo motors
- Computer hard disk drives
- Industrial uses such as maintaining product purity, equipment protection, and quality control
- Wind turbine generators
- Integrated starter-generators and traction motors generators in electric vehicles
- Fishing reel brakes
Other Applications of Rare Earth Magnets:
Other applications of rare-earth magnets include:
- LED Throwies
- Launched roller coaster
- Electrodynamic bearings
- Linear motors (used in magnetic levitation trains)
- Electric guitar pickups
- Stop motion animation
- Diamagnetic levitation experimentation – It is the study of the superconductor dynamics and magnetic field levitation
- Neodymium magnet toys
Difference Between Rare Earth Magnet and Ceramic Magnet
| Parameter | Rare earth magnet | Ceramic magnet |
| Chemical composition | These are obtained from the rare earth elements | These are obtained from strontium and barium ferrite |
| Magnetic field strength | 26 and 40 are the magnetic field strength of SmCo and NdFeB respectively | 3.5 is the magnetic field strength |
| Resistance to thermal stress | 150°C | 300°C |
| Thermal stress beyond Tmax | 310° | 460° |
Related Articles:
| Earth’s Magnetism |
| What is a Magnet |
| Uses of Magnets |
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Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs
Why are rare earth magnets normally coated or plated?
Rare Earth magnets are brittle and are vulnerable to corrosion, so they are coated to protect them from breaking, chipping, or crumbling into powder.
What does the term “rare-earth” in rare-earth metals mean?
The term rare earth in rare earth metal can be misleading as some of these metals can be as abundant in the Earth’s crust as tin or lead, but rare earth ores are unevenly distributed, not existing in seams like coal or copper, so in any given cubic kilometre of crust they are “rare”.
Do neodymium magnets lose their strength over time?
Yes, but very little. They lose less than 1% of their strength every 10 years.
Are neodymium magnets sensitive to temperature?
Yes, neodymium magnets are sensitive to temperature. The heat will demagnetize the magnet.
Which is the strongest magnet in the world?
Neodymium is the strongest magnet in the world.
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