Correlated Magnetics Research (CMR) has announced that it is shipping the first magnetizing printer for permanent magnet materials and the first software catalog of advanced magnetic functions. The CMR MagPrinter is a production magnetization system that “prints” arrays of magnets onto a single piece of magnetic material to produce a Polymagnet – a patterned magnet tailored to perform novel magnetic functions. The MagPrinter software comes with the CMR Polymagnet Catalog that contains hundreds of magnet functions that designers can integrate into consumer and industrial products.
Polymagnets are a new type of integrated magnetic system that deliver stronger local forces and exhibit unique behaviors such as precision auto-alignment, high torque transfer and even magnetic effects that reverse forces based on separation distance. Rather than one north pole and one south pole, a Polymagnet contains tens or even hundreds of smaller magnet regions, called maxels, arranged in special patterns of north and south poles. Each maxel pattern produces a unique magnetic behavior when the Polymagnet is brought near metal or other Polymagnets. Pre-engineered Polymagnet functions are contained in the CMR Polymagnet Catalog, and they can be printed by the CMR MagPrinter.
“With CMR’s unique technology, magnets can now be described in software for strength, reach and function, in contrast to conventional magnets which are fixed by size and strength of material,” said Andy Keane, president and CEO of Correlated Magnetics Research. “By programming a Polymagnet for these desired characteristics, there are limitless possibilities for Polymagnets in consumer and industrial products. We have defined a standard set of Polymagnet functions with engineering performance data in catalog form so that product designers can easily adopt advanced magnetic components.”
Polymagnet applications range from simple attachment to advanced functionality not possible with conventional magnets. When used for attachment, the magnetic field of a Polymagnet is concentrated closer to the surface, which not only increases the attachment strength more than five times that of a conventional magnet, but also reduces the risk of accidental attraction of surrounding metal or other magnets. With more sophisticated patterns, Polymagnets can hover, align with very high precision at prescribed positions and change from repel to attract at a programmed distance. All of these behaviors can be customized using CMR’s Polymagnet design software.
The CMR MagPrinter is the first system with the ability to produce patterns of magnets by “printing” magnet elements of either polarity on a single piece of magnetic material. The system imprints Polymagnets in batch mode on a large, movable stage with maxel sizes ranging from 1mm to 4mm. By overlapping maxels, the printer can produce very high-resolution patterns and even images embedded in the magnetic material itself. The MagPrinter produces Polymagnets on the strongest Neodymium magnets, flexible materials, ferrites and specialized materials such as Samarium Cobalt.
For more information and pricing about the CMR Polymagnet Catalog for programmable magnets and MagPrinter systems, contact CMR.
