Automotive applications for injected magnets

Injected magnets are a versatile and innovative solution for creating magnetic part designs with shapes and characteristics according to customer requirements. They are made by defining a mixture of magnetic materials such as; samarium cobalt, neodymium, strontium, or barium carbonate, which must provide the magnetic attraction capacity, residual induction, and coercive field that the customer has requested. The materials used in this industrial process must be pulverized into very small particles, usually less than 15 micrometers in size, then mixed with a thermoplastic polymer and injected into molds, resulting in parts. The result is a customized magnetic element with high mechanical strength and very tight dimensional tolerances, typical of neodymium and samarium cobalt magnets.

Lighter automotive magnets to meet new challenges

The automotive industry is advancing rapidly intending to create safer, more advanced, and environmentally-friendly vehicles. This requires robust, lightweight materials that can reduce weight to reduce fuel consumption and produce fewer harmful emissions into the environment. They are much lighter, offer high structural and corrosion resistance can be manufactured in any shape allowing for more efficient construction, saving space, and, above all, have exactly the technical characteristics requested by engineers.

Practical applications in the automotive industry.

Remotely opening the vehicle doors, lowering a window, activating the glove box courtesy light, operating the ABS system, opening the sunroof, using the cruise control system, parking using the autonomous system, receiving engine parameters in the control unit, using the electric brake, operating the position sensors, detecting the seat belt locking and many other functions usually performed by automotive systems is possible thanks to these injected automotive magnets. Although there are currently many applications of injected magnetic elements in the automobile, in the future there will be a strong increase in their installation, as it is expected the massive implementation of autonomous driving systems and the increase in the production of hybrid and electric vehicles.

Manufacture of customized magnets

The industrial process of plastic injection molding of magnetic materials makes it possible to produce parts in any shape, as long as it is possible to build a mold, including flexible elements, magnetic strips, and magnetic tapes. But, even more, important is the possibility of creating magnets with customized magnetic properties at the customer's request, being able to manufacture magnets with defined characteristics for a specific function. The possibilities are very wide, being able to create pieces with high attraction power, typical of neodymium magnets, or elements with slight fields and inductions to obtain other purposes.

IMA is a manufacturer of magnets and magnetic elements closely linked to the automotive sector and its auxiliary company, a reliable and valuable supplier, is very much to be taken into account to make any magnetic element manufacturing project a reality.