Home, Shop & Industry Uses

You’ve heard the warnings: Keep magnets away from your computer! Keep magnets away from your credit cards! Keep magnets away from that old floppy disk (if you still have one around.) Continue reading →

Spring is right around the corner and as the age-old saying goes, “April showers bring May flowers." Flowers can add an extra decorative touch to your home this time of year, but keeping your vases clean is important for many reasons. Vase cleaning can help eliminate the odors that come along with the standing water as well as extend the life of the flowers. Continue reading →

The mining industry requires some powerful machinery – draglines, excavators, and massive drill rigs. You’ve likely seen one or more these machines while driving down the highway. It is a tough line of work that employs equally tough people, but as demanding as the industry is, and as imposing as most of the machinery tends to be, it requires other, more delicate equipment as well.  Continue reading →

Do you remember the iconic conveyor belt scene from I Love Lucy? Lucy and Ethel are working at a candy factory but are warned they’ll be fired if they fail to wrap a single piece of candy. Naturally, things are never easy for the duo, and as the belt begins to move faster and faster... well, cue the laughter! But did you know that permanent magnets are used to operate real-life conveyor belts and pulley systems? Magnets are highly effective at separating certain materials, making them ideal in an industry like recycling where you must sift between plastics, metals, paper, and hundreds of other products along a single conveyor belt. Another good example is the food industry (maybe in a candy factory!) — you wouldn’t want anything dangerous slipping into the final product before mass distribution. Many operations place a magnetic pulley at the end of the conveyor belt as part of their separation efforts. Continue reading →

Easy and Convenient Winter Home Hacks For many of us, winter can be a tough time of year. Ice, snow, and colder temperatures all come with their own, unique set of obstacles and headaches. Luckily, magnets are here to help! Read on for some of our favorite magnetic winter home hacks to help you make it to spring with out going crazy. Continue reading →

The terms “stress relief” and “rattlesnake eggs” seem like they should never be included in the same sentence. However, there is a way to marry the two in a somewhat unexpected way: through magnets (surprise!). Read on to learn how you can use these rattlesnake eggs as fidget magnets.  Continue reading →

Whether you live in the city or the suburbs, there is always the looming threat of burglary. You’ve seen the commercials — a family sleeps soundly as a thief creeps up to the backdoor. After breaking the lock, he quietly shoulders his way into the home. Suddenly, the night erupts in the sound of alarms. As the security company calls the homeowner, he or she looks out the window just in time to see the would-be intruder fleeing over the backyard fence. You might think that an important piece of equipment like a security system would use cutting edge technology, but in reality, it’s actually quite simple. In fact,  the barrier between average families and break-ins is a magnet and a basic reed switch. For someone in the security industry, it’s important to understand how this kind of system works. Continue reading →

When you step into the break room to purchase your favorite snack, you probably don’t give the vending machine much thought. You deposit your money, punch in the product code, and take your chips or candy bar back to your desk. You might not realize it as you eagerly await your food, but a complex series of processes is happening inside the machine, and you can thank magnets for that. Different types of magnet technology are used depending on how you decide to pay — whether it’s with coins, cash, or credit card. Continue reading →

Each year in the United States, semi-trailer trucks travel roughly 190 billion miles of crisscrossing highways across the country (FHWA, 2024) to transport about 72.6% of the nation’s freight by weight (American Trucking Associations). With many miles to log and important, often heavy cargo to tow, it’s crucial to equip these trailer trucks with reliable brakes. The brakes beneath an 18-wheeler (or another big trailer like a caravan or RV) must stop all that weight and momentum. But how do they manage to do it? Continue reading →

All over the world, wind mills are appearing in skylines. Whether dotting the the tops of mountain ranges or standing tall over the ocean, windmills bring clean energy without the air pollution involved in other forms of power.  Continue reading →

If you’ve ever painted a room, you’re already familiar with some of the common roadblocks: nails from hung pictures need to be removed, holes need to be filled in, trim needs taping off, and drop cloths need to be ready to catch any splattered paint.  Continue reading →

You probably don’t think twice when you set your recycling on the curb in the morning. While you head to work for the day, an enormous truck comes by and devours the plastic bottles and soup cans. The truck then takes these materials to a recycling center, a location often hidden somewhere on the outskirts of town.  Continue reading →

When you turn on the office lights with the flip of a switch, you can thank a magnet. Or, to be more accurate, a whole lot of magnets. That’s because the electricity powering those lights is being created at a power plant that uses a series of magnets to generate electricity.  Continue reading →

You’ve probably seen them before: ring-shaped magnets that look like washers with a conical, angled hole through the middle. These are countersunk magnets. Also called countersink magnets, the design is intentional—the wedge and hole exist so the countersunk magnet can be anchored in place by a single screw. Their strange design makes them extremely useful in the right situations.  Continue reading →

The magnets industry is constantly evolving. Researchers are always tinkering with new metal combinations to bring cheaper, more reliable magnets to the market. But the focus on magnets doesn’t stop on the surface of the earth. Recently, the Department of Energy funded research to extract rare earth elements from old coal mines in the Appalachians — a major development considering we’ve long depended on China to supply us with rare earth materials.  Continue reading →

Even inside the wondrous world of magnets, ferrofluid is especially magical the first time you see it in action. Though it’s a liquid, it behaves like a goopy solid when manipulated by a magnet. Instead of flowing freely, ferrofluid will contour in the shape of the magnetic field acting upon it, letting you manipulate it at will before returning to its original spot within the magnetic field.  Continue reading →

When you’re moving heavy, ferrous loads, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more convenient tool than a magnetic lifter. That’s because magnetic lifters require no tie-offs or additional manpower. With only the flip of a switch, a small box can carry tons of weight.  Continue reading →

Sure, magnets hold a huge importance in our day-to-day lives. From the moment we wake up until the moment we go to sleep, magnets are working behind the scenes in our microwaves, cars, our computers, and many other tools we take for granted.  Continue reading →

As of November 2016, there were around 540,000 electric vehicles on the road in the United States. While this only equates to roughly 0.2% of vehicles in the country at the time, this number has since grown sharply (the Alliance for Automotive Innovation counted roughly 7.8 million EVs on US roads in Q2 2026), helped by the increase in manufacturers releasing lines of electric cars. But what makes electric cars work in the first place? You might be surprised to learn that magnets play a large role. Continue reading →

There are many ways to hide keys where they can be easily accessible in case of an emergency, or if anyone should need them. Keep reading to learn how to hide your key two different ways using magnets and some creativity! Continue reading →

Magnets don’t often receive the praise they deserve because they’re often tucked deep inside the incredible devices that require them. Likewise, many industries in the U.S. rely on powerful magnets used behind the scenes. If you know where to look, you’ll soon find magnets are everywhere.  Continue reading →

Though they’re simple in design, magnetic sweepers can immediately improve your standards of safety and efficiency. The reason: They quickly clear large areas of dangerous—and sometimes valuable—debris with minimal physical labor.  Continue reading →

If you follow us on Twitter and read our blog regularly (who doesn’t?), you’ve probably seen us post a few articles about the hyperloop. If you’re new to this story or need a refresher, the Hyperloop is essentially a super-fast transport system that relies on the power of magnetic levitation. One company, Hyperloop One, recently announced its proposed routes for cities across the globe. Continue reading →

We’ve talked about the Hyperloop previously on the blog, but just in case you’re not up to speed, we’ll give you a little refresher. Presented in 2013 by Elon Musk, the Hyperloop is a proposed low-pressure tube system powered by electromagnetism. Its backers said it could cover long distances in far less time than existing ground transportation. Imagine being able to travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco (350 miles) in under 35 minutes. Cross-country travel would be changed forever, and for the better! Continue reading →