The making of a magnet

[Shockwave]

A little info on how those nifty little magnets are made. Took some pics of our shop while I was back home, didnt get any of the CNC mahcines as they are in our other building, but figured I'd share what i did get.

Heres some magnets getting ready to ship. They usually ship by just laying them out on cardboard and boxing them up.

This is the inside of a blanchard. Think of a REALLY big grinder. The chuck if magnetic and spins, while the grinding wheel also spins and is held stationary. The chuck moves horizontally while the grinding stone moves vertically.
Here is the outside of the blanchard. Yes, its a floor model

A few magnets, finished and ready

Heres a surface grinder. Again, magentic chuck (Most machines have them). The table automatically cycles back and forth, while the grinding stone moves in and out. Its all automatic except for the vertical travel. Set the magnets on the chuck, kick it on and away it goes. You only have to control the depth of grind, while the table moves.

This is a centerless grinder. Used to grind rod to the desired dimensions.
Inside os the centerless. The stone on the elft moves slowly and control the feed rate while the stone on the right spins quickly and does the grinding.

Rod stock before maching

Milling machine

Scrap ends

Slabs after machining

Odds and ends

Parts being QC'd

Anyways, theres a few pics of the process.

 

[Platypus]

neat, thanks

 

[Leetman]

Cool.

 

[screw3d]

Cool.. what kind of magnets are these?

 

[Shockwave]

Originally posted by: screw3d
Cool.. what kind of magnets are these?

Various. Neo and ceramic mostly.

 

[Rumpltzer]

Originally posted by: Shockwave
A little info on how those nifty little magnets are made. Took some pics of our shop while I was back home, didnt get any of the CNC mahcines as they are in our other building, but figured I'd share what i did get.

I don't get it. It looks like milling and shaping machines, I think. Is the rod stock magnetic to begin with, or does some part of the process you show make it magnetic?

 

[Electric Amish]

This is a good use for the magnet after it's made.

 

[Koing]

Thanks for the pics.

Looks interesting

Koing

 

[Shockwave]

Originally posted by: Rumpltzer

Originally posted by: Shockwave
A little info on how those nifty little magnets are made. Took some pics of our shop while I was back home, didnt get any of the CNC mahcines as they are in our other building, but figured I'd share what i did get.

I don't get it. It looks like milling and shaping machines, I think. Is the rod stock magnetic to begin with, or does some part of the process you show make it magnetic?

They start as stock material, are worked to the required size, then magentized. I didnt get any pics of the magnetizer.

 

[JoeKing]

can you hook up any good neodymium deals for your local OT geeks??

 

[WannaFly]

what is done with all the scraps?

 

[WaterTorture]

Originally posted by: WannaFly
what is done with all the scraps?

I imagine all of the machining is done before the steel is magnetized. So, the scraps would be useless steel and metal shavings

I'd like to see pics of the machine you use to magnetize. (I went to school for machining, I shouldve stayed w/ it)

 

[Instan00dles]

those are some pretty dirty machines, using a mill that dirty would drive me nuts.

 

[Shockwave]

1) I'd have to check on any deals, but the prices on those other websites were actually pretty competitve. Any deals would most likely be our bad stuff (Doesnt meet QC)

2) The scraps are usually sent back to be re-smelted. We could throw a couple handfuls in a bag and ship them out I suppose if anyone wanted some small end peices. They arent magged as that comes just before shipping, but they could easily be magentized and sent

3) The magnetizer is the most uninteresting machine you could possibly every see. Imagine a box about the size of a small computer case with 2 buttons on it. A power button and disharge button. Then a cord runs to a coil, which is all encased so it just looks like a big donut, hole in the middle and square on the outside. You put the magnets in the inside of the coil and push the disharge button. Pow. You have turned it magnetic.

40 The machines are always dirty. Its a dirty affair. The machines are liquid cooled, and all the machining dust from the material mixes with the coolant. You end up with wahst very similiar to mud, except its much stickier and a helluva lot harder to clean off.