The magnetic property posed by various materials was discovered thousands of years back. At that time, the force was known, not the material. After the research was carried out and more elaborate experiments were made, other properties of magnetic materials were also discovered. It did not take long time for the man to put to use the properties of magnets for industrial use.
Industrial magnets are being used for a wide variety of purposes in industries. Large size magnets are used in the industries for holding objects without letting them move from their place. This property is just like the tendency of our planet earth that has a gravitational force that tries to hold everything on its surface.
Every magnetic material has two poles namely the North and the South Pole. These two poles have their own properties. Like poles always repel each other when unlike poles always attract each other when bought close tone another. The force that pulls or pushes these poles together or apart, respectively, is known as magnetic force. Every magnet has two poles irrespective of its size. You keep breaking on a large magnet, and every time you do so, you get a new magnet with two poles.
The tendency of similar poles to repel each other and tendency of like poles to attract each other is of vital use in industrial applications. There are four different types of industrial magnets. They are:
1. Neodymium it is the most powerful natural magnet. It is primarily used for holding and lifting heavy objects due to its immense power.
2. Samarium cobalt this kind of magnet is small in size but it is also incredibly strong. This magnet is not present in abundance in the Earth and is rare.
3. Ceramic magnets these magnets are manufactured in different sizes and shapes serving various useful purposes.
4. Alnico magnets these magnets are available in shapes like that of a horseshoe or a bar. They are used in industries because of their heat resistance.
Industrial magnets are large in size and are used in many assemblies to serve different functions like lifting metallic objects. Moreover, when small metallic parts are lost, these magnets prove useful in finding them. Magnets are also used in doors for latching it. Industrial magnets also serve the helpful purpose of metal detection while they are also used for holding signs and displays.
Magnetic force is natural just like the magnetic force exerted by magnetic poles of the planet Earth. With advancement is science and technology, mankind has devised various ways of exploiting this natural power of magnets. Industrial magnets are very helpful in performing various functions in the industry driven world today. Small size magnets are also used in various households for one purpose or the other.
When people talk about industrial magnets then they generally associate it with size. The size of it means the item is huge. This can be because of the fact that in the times of the industrial revolution, producing something was more about big factories that churned out large things very quickly. Nowadays the face of industry has changed greatly over the last century and the progress is also being measurement in how small and efficient an item can be produced by a company. An example of this is a microchip.
In the 21st century when smaller devices and tools are being manufactured then the challenge is to fit more of it into less space. It allows better utilization of the minimum space available. Today computer processors are no larger than a fingernail but provide computational capabilities that are done in microseconds which used to take hours just 50 or 60 years back. Not to forget that the computer in those days used to occupy many large rooms. This is a very big achievement considering how far the world has moved within such a short span of time. The technological advancements are taking place at a rapid pace.
Earlier it was only in motors and generators that industrial magnets were used. These magnets were big in size so that large jobs could be performed. There wasn't much demand for small motors neither there was any requirement for small magnets. But nowadays most of the industrial motors are small servo motors and other small motors that are used in hard drives, CD and DVD drives, miniature generators, cooling fans and other such small motive machines. As the world gets smaller and the technology advances at a rapid pace, the machines are shrinking in size. As there is shrinkage of machines, many components used in those machines are also getting smaller in size.
There is still needs for large magnets to be used in generators that provide electricity. Lots of electric cars are being introduced which use various types of magnets in different configurations to perform a wide variety of tasks. Magnet is so much ingrained with our life that minuscule amount of iron, which is basically the basic part of a magnet, can also be found in a human body.
It is just that nowadays the size of industrial magnets have been getting smaller even if the industry has been growing rapidly at a fast pace. This shrinking trend can make people wonder whether Texas is the next in the line for large-scale integration. Lots of waste space lies in that state and if the motors and magnets sizes are any sign then the lone star state may soon turn out to be the size of Rhode Island.
