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Concept
Neodymium magnet
Summary
A neodymium magnet (also known as NdFeB, NIB or Neo magnet) is a permanent magnet made from an alloy of neodymium, iron, and boron to form the Nd2Fe14B tetragonal crystalline structure.
Developed independently in 1984 by General Motors and Sumitomo Special Metals, neodymium magnets are the strongest type of permanent magnet available commercially.
Neodymium magnet are the most widely used type of rare-earth magnet.
NdFeB magnets can be classified as sintered or bonded, depending on the manufacturing process used. They have replaced other types of magnets in many applications in modern products that require strong permanent magnets, such as electric motors in cordless tools, hard disk drives and magnetic fasteners.
General Motors (GM) and Sumitomo Special Metals independently discovered the Nd2Fe14B compound almost simultaneously in 1984. The research was initially driven by the high raw materials cost of SmCo permanent magnets, which had been developed earlier. GM focused on the development of melt-spun nanocrystalline Nd2Fe14B magnets, while Sumitomo developed full-density sintered Nd2Fe14B magnets.
GM commercialized its inventions of isotropic Neo powder, bonded neo magnets, and the related production processes by founding Magnequench in 1986 (Magnequench has since become part of Neo Materials Technology, Inc., which later merged into Molycorp). The company supplied melt-spun Nd2Fe14B powder to bonded magnet manufacturers. The Sumitomo facility became part of the Hitachi Corporation, and has manufactured but also licensed other companies to produce sintered Nd2Fe14B magnets. Hitachi has held more than 600 patents covering neodymium magnets.
Chinese manufacturers have become a dominant force in neodymium magnet production, based on their control of much of the world's rare-earth mines.
The United States Department of Energy has identified a need to find substitutes for rare-earth metals in permanent magnet technology and has funded such research.
Official source
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