Customer Driven Magnetiser Innovation

Customisation of a magnetising solution occurs on most projects and the ability to adapt and innovate separates Bunting Magnetics from other suppliers.  Every magnetising application is unique, and the engineering team strives to understand the customer’s objective and tailor a suitable solution.  Such dedication to customisation enhances the product performance, whilst ensuring the final solution remains cost-effective.

A compelling example of Bunting Magnetics’ customer-centric approach is a recent industrial magnetiser project where a customer asked to visualise the current and magnetic field inside a solenoid coil during magnetising.  Traditionally, voltage is used to demonstrate that a part is fully magnetised.  However, this customer wanted to register the current in the solenoid coil and the magnetic field within the coil.

The Bunting Magnetics product development team eagerly took on the challenge, iterating a function from the BMCS1050 setter to the larger BMC10050-LGC 100kj magnetisers.  With a combination of software changes and new hardware, it was possible to display both the current and magnetic field on the HMI Screen as well as log the data in the software.

Overcoming Technical Challenges

Direct current measurement is impossible for the thousands or even tens of thousands of amps that go through the magnetising fixture during the millisecond pulse.  The Bunting engineering team used their extensive knowledge of magnetic fields generated by the current flowing in a wire to capture the current values, whilst referring to other non-contact current measurement systems such as the Rogowski coil/oscilloscope method.

Each magnetising fixture is unique, despite the chargers being standard, and a system is often paired together.  This provides a direct correlation between current output from the magnetiser into the magnetising fixture, and the subsequent magnetic field generated in the fixture.  For Ferrite and Alnico magnets, a capturing field of between 0.4-1 Tesla is straight-forward, but for some grades of Neodymium Iron Boron (NdFeB) and Samarium Cobalt (SmCo) capturing 3.4 Tesla and 5 Tesla is far more challenging for any off-the-shelf Gauss probe.  Using Bunting’s measurement system and pairing this with testing, any magnetic field can be measured and displayed on the HMI screen.

By logging the current and magnetic field each time the magnetiser fired, the customer retains complete traceability, ensuring and recording that every magnetised magnet had been exposed to the specified magnetic field.

The Result: Enhanced Customer Satisfaction

The result of this project was a resounding success.  The customer now has the ability to visualise the current and magnetic field in real-time, providing them with greater control and confidence in their magnetising process.  This level of customisation and attention to detail sets Bunting Magnetics apart from the competition.

Continual Improvement Philosophy

As a supplier of advanced technology, the Bunting Magnetics team strives to work closely with the customer, making the design and manufacturing process as easy and painless as possible.  This dedication to customisation and innovation provides the perfect platform to meet the unique needs of each customer, resulting in the best possible technical solution.  Whether developing new functionalities or overcoming technical challenges, the team is committed to ensuring customers achieve their operational objectives.

Matthew Swallow, Bunting’s Technical Product Manager explained the ethos of the Bunting Magnetics engineering team.

“By continually asking, ‘How can we help you make it better, cheaper, and more efficient?’ we ensure that our products and services are always aligned with our customers’ goals.  This customer-centric approach is at the heart of everything we do at Bunting Magnetics, and it drives us to deliver exceptional value and satisfaction every time.

“Our mission is to make it easy for our customers to do business with us.  We pride ourselves on our ability to provide customer-specific technical quality magnets, magnet assemblies, and magnetising solutions.  Our approach is simple yet powerful: every time we supply a product, we start by asking our customers, ‘What are you doing with this magnet, and how can we help you make it better, cheaper, and more efficient?’.  Then we design the optimum solution.”