Magnet Facts

Silversea Cruises — a luxury cruise liner with headquarters in Monaco — has begun implementing powerful permanent magnets as a part of their effort to moor passenger excursion boats against the larger vessel. The goal is to deploy Zodiac boats safely, quickly, and efficiently, and return them to the cruise ship in the same manner.  Continue reading →

Do you know about the important role magnets play in the food and beverage industry? This is especially crucial during processing when metal contaminants can interrupt production, damage equipment, or lead to product recalls and consumer injury. Magnets are used to attract unwanted metal fragments (some as small as dust), whereas other methods of quality control (QC) — metal detectors and X-ray machines — are limited by how much they can accurately detect. Continue reading →

Motors are all around us! They are practically indispensable in almost every major industry and can be found wherever there is mechanical movement. In the average household, you will likely find electric motors in your washing machine, microwave, refrigerator, ceiling fans, hairdryers, electric razors, and the list goes on. On an even smaller scale, micro-motors can be found in your most-used electronics — computers, laptops, and cellphones.   Continue reading →

After the discovery of electromagnets in the 1800s, the world’s understanding and use of magnets started to evolve. However, the next big game changer didn’t occur until 1911 when Kamerlingh Onnes discovered superconductivity. This refers to the zero electrical resistance and expulsion of magnetic fields in some materials (superconductors) at very low absolute temperatures. Superconductors conduct electricity with “perfect” efficiency...

Without proximity sensors, the details of our day-to-day lives would change. For example, cell phones wouldn’t be as user-friendly, manufacturing would be less streamlined, and the food and beverage industry wouldn’t operate under the same sterilization standards. Smart technology and profitable manufacturing rely on accurate measurement, tracking, and monitoring; proximity sensors provide that.  The Many Types of Proximity Sensors Proximity...

American physicist Edwin H. Hall discovered the Hall Effect in 1879 – almost 20 years before we discovered the electron. He was clearly a man before his time because it took several decades for people to catch up to his discovery and fully grasp or understand its importance. Now the concept is used to operate computers, cell phones, cars, and...

While the recycling of rare earth magnets – including neodymium and samarium cobalt – is technically possible, it is not scalable or efficient for most businesses. In fact, less than 1 percent of rare earths were recycled as of 2011, due to a combination of technical, financial, and political reasons. Still, several organizations and scientific studies are attempting to create...

If you’re responsible for procuring magnets for your business, you should have a basic understanding of the variables that impact a magnet’s strength. Why? Because strength relates back to safety, reliability, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. To help you meet your responsibilities and choose the best possible product for your application, we put together this quick and easy guide to magnet strength...

As purchasing manager, it is your primary responsibility to select the highest quality products for your business – goods that are safe, reliable, and efficient. Secondarily, your aim is to be as cost effective as possible. In order to meet these goals, you need a keen understanding of your business’s unique goals. If you are looking to acquire magnets for your business, you can trust Apex to be detail-oriented, fully available when you need our expertise, and open to creative problem-solving. We work with managers to identify the most appropriate product for your situation, but before you move forward with your purchase, there are some details you should consider. Continue reading →

When you think of magnets, where does your mind go first? Maybe an industrial backdrop, such as magnetic sweepers? Perhaps you think of a first-grade classroom – star magnets beneath the names of well-behaved children. There’s a good chance you don’t relate to either of these examples, but have you considered the practical uses magnets can have around your office...