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2017 Review of Magnet News and Blogs
By Paul Fears | 15 December 2017
Magnets and Magnetic Assembly News in 2017
2017 has been our first full year of posting news and technical articles. As we approach the end of 2017, we thought that it would be interesting to look back on a busy and exciting year!
January
Our first blog of the year looked at the simple Magnetic Sweeper, used in factories, warehouses and in car parks to remove metal from floors.
This was followed by an article on Car roof top magnets, that are seen on the top taxis across the UK.
Also in the month, we published an article on a complex Rare Earth Magnet assembly designed to act as an emergency brake on an offshore winch. The Bunting magnet designs team had worked closley with the client to develop and manufacture a unique high strength magnetic assembly.
February
Matthew Swallow, our Technical Sales Engineer for Magnets and Magnetic Assemblies, reported back from the UK Magnetic Society’s even on Non-Rotating Machines. This included a fascinating review of how the US military intend to catapult planes from war ships in the future.
March
Our product range of the month was Work Holding Magnets, used extensively across the manufacturing sector to secure, hold and lift metal components and parts.
We also looked at Magnet Magic and asked how these 4 coins were balanced on the edge of a mug. This trick used the power of a magnetic block.
April
We reviewed the manufacture of specialist Magnetic Assemblies at our facility in the UK. Many of the designs are bespoke and we examined the science behind a high performance magnetic coupling.
May
In May we explained where the name ‘Rare Earth’ originated when talking about high strength magnets. Although commonly believed to be a relatively recently developed material, the original work dates back to the 1960s.
June
One of our most popular articles in 2017 provided health and safety advice for people handling and using high and low strength magnets.
Then we talked about the importance of the simple compass in the development of the world we know today. The compass is believed to be over 2000 years old and helped many of our famous explorers discover new worlds.
July
Denis Elkins, our Quality Assurance Manager, announced our successful transition to the ISO9001:2015 Quality and ISO14001:2015 Environment Standards.
August
Reports from China highlighted concerns about the rising price of Rare Earth Magnets. The price was being driven up by a number of factors including the rise in demand for electric vehicles.
September
We launched a new Neodymium Magnet designed specially for use in sensors at the Sensors & Instrumentation Show at the NEC in Birmingham.
October/November
We are really keen to promote engineering to young people and were thrilled to be able to show the 1st Northchurch Cub Scouts around our magnet and magnetic separator factory in Berkhamsted. The visit ‘attracted’ a lot of attention!
November was also our ‘James Bond’ month and we looked back at all the movies to see where 007 or the villains had used the power of the magnet. Part 1 focused on the Sean Connery and Roger Moore years, and was followed by Part 2 and the Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan era.
December
Our final news of the year was about the Christmas Magnet Competition, where Andrew McAllister from Portsmouth won 5 Magnet Science Games. Congratulations Andrew!
Thank you for reading our news and blogs in 2017. It has been a great year. If you need any information on magnets or magnetic assemblies please contact us on:
Phone: +44(0)1442 875081
Email: sales.berkhamsted@buntingmagnetics.com
