In keeping with its core mission of providing the most effective magnetic separation equipment available to the marketplace, Industrial Magnetics, Inc. (IMI) announces a move to the exclusive use of 52 grade MgOe rare earth material in January, 2014.
MgOe refers to "Mega (million) Gauss Oersteds", a unit of measure typically used in stating the maximum energy product for a given material; the higher the grade the stronger the magnet.
IMI’s President, Dennis O’Leary, states, "10 years ago we led the way in bringing 50 MgOe to the market in all of our 1" round circuit configurations (round circuits in larger OD’s featured 45 MgOe). I am proud that we have made another significant step forward, with an upgrade to 52 MgOe rare earth materials for all IMI manufactured metal separation products featuring round magnetic circuitry," said Dennis O’Leary president of IMI. "This is beneficial in that it offers a higher likelihood of capturing ferrous and weakly magnetic metal contaminants, resulting in cleaner product. It also provides a benefit to the processing stream at the plant level in the form of better capital equipment protection and assistance with critical control points."
Two products on which IMI customers will see significant improvements are the Bullet® and LTH® (Large Tube Housing). The new 52 MgOe material coupled with magnetic modeling software has significantly optimized the circuit configuration. The Bullet magnet, designed for pneumatic applications and currently testing out at a nominal pull strength of 11 lbs. on a 1/2" ball, will now pull 22 lbs. The LTH, which features a 3" OD circuit and is designed for product with challenging flow characteristics and a tendency to bridge, currently pulls 6 lbs. on a 1/2" ball. The new design will also pull 22 lbs. This reflects a 100% and 266% increase in pull strength, respectively.
"In the big picture, IMI is simply being consistent with our goal of staying ’above the noise’ by only offering what we feel is the strongest, most stable and commercially available rare earth material," said O’Leary. "We don’t see the value proposition for customers in muddling the marketplace with multiple and inferior strength levels of rare earth materials, versus just providing the best."