TECHNICAL GUIDE
A guide to the main types of industrial magnetic assemblies, the benefits of custom systems and their most advanced applications.
Magnetic assemblies and industrial magnetic systems make it possible to channel, focus, amplify and control magnetic flux in a targeted way. In the broad and complex landscape of modern manufacturing, automation and precision engineering, optimising physical forces is one of the key drivers of technological innovation.
To assess the right assembly for your application, contact the CIBAS team.
The use of individual or “bare” magnets often presents limitations in demanding industrial environments: structural fragility, uncontrolled flux leakage, mechanical fastening difficulties and performance degradation in the presence of high temperatures or corrosive agents. Magnetic assemblies are specifically designed to overcome these physical and geometric constraints, transforming the intrinsic potential of rare earths and other alloys into stable, efficient and customisable working solutions.
At a fundamental level, magnetic assemblies are integrated magnetic circuits. When a permanent magnet is isolated in space, its field lines travel from the north pole to the south pole through the surrounding air in every direction, resulting in significant magnetic energy leakage. When the same magnet is placed inside a structure made of ferromagnetic material, such as steel or iron, the magnetic flux finds an extremely low-reluctance path.
This phenomenon makes it possible to “guide” the field lines towards a specific working area. Structural integration achieves a higher surface flux density than an individual magnet of the same volume. As a result, assembled magnets are not merely designed for mechanical containment; they also follow rigorous principles for optimising magnetic flux.
By exploiting the magnetic permeability of ferromagnetic supports, the surface holding force can be increased by up to four or five times compared with an unprotected magnet, directing the force only where the application requires it.
Magnetic system configurations vary according to the nature of the application and the required direction of the attractive or repulsive force. The most widely used categories worldwide include:
These are among the simplest and most efficient architectures. A disc or ring magnet is housed inside a ferromagnetic metal pot. This design forces both magnetic poles to concentrate on the same active surface, almost completely eliminating the magnetic field at the back and sides of the assembly. Pot magnets are ideal for industrial clamping, lifting and fastening applications.
Similar to pot magnet systems, these use a U-shaped metal profile, or channel, that houses one or more rectangular magnets. This elongated geometry is ideal for creating magnetic guides, retention systems along sliding lines and closing barriers on automated industrial machinery.
In permanent-magnet electric motors, including brushless, synchronous and torque motors, magnets are arranged on rotating shafts or inside stator housings. Geometric positioning accuracy and pole orientation are crucial for maximising torque and minimising cogging, or torque ripple. These systems often require high-speed dynamic balancing.
Magnetic couplings transmit torque through physical barriers without any mechanical contact. They consist of two facing magnetic assemblies, one driving and one driven. They are essential in pumps handling toxic, corrosive or sterile fluids, where leak prevention is critical and wear-prone mechanical seals cannot be used.
Within advanced magnetic system technology, the configuration known as the Halbach array deserves special mention. Originally invented by physicist Klaus Halbach in the 1980s, this unique spatial arrangement of magnetisation vectors delivers exceptional asymmetric performance.
In a Halbach array, individual magnetic segments are progressively rotated by a fixed angle, for example 90 degrees, relative to one another. This systematic rotation of the magnetic domains produces constructive interference on the side towards which the flux converges and destructive interference on the opposite side. The practical result is an extremely powerful, highly concentrated magnetic field on one face of the assembly, while the opposite face has an almost negligible magnetic field.
Halbach-array-based systems offer several industrial benefits:
Adopting custom magnetic systems provides a decisive competitive advantage over standard off-the-shelf solutions. The main benefits can be divided into four key areas:
Modern industrial layouts require increasingly compact and lightweight machinery. A custom magnetic assembly is designed around the customer’s space constraints, using finite element simulation software to eliminate every gram of unnecessary material while maintaining or increasing the required working force.
Sintered rare-earth magnets have a brittleness comparable to ceramic materials and are prone to chipping, cracking or crumbling under impact or cyclic vibration. Housing them inside custom metal structures, using structural epoxy resins for potting or sealing them by laser welding ensures an operating life of several decades, even under the most demanding conditions.
Customisation makes it possible to select dedicated surface treatments, including passivation, electroless nickel plating, Teflon or Parylene coatings and special resins. These protect assembled magnets from acids, alkalis, salt-laden moisture and the high-pressure cleaning processes commonly used in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
Receiving a finished magnetic assembly from the supplier, complete with threaded holes, mounting flanges or through shafts, eliminates operational risks and dramatically speeds up final assembly operations at the user’s plant.
The widespread use of magnetic assemblies makes them invisible yet essential components across a wide range of vertical markets:
In electric mobility, traction motor efficiency is directly linked to the engineering of magnetic rotors. Integrating magnets in advanced internal configurations helps reduce eddy-current losses. In addition, ultra-high-precision position sensors for braking systems (ABS) and power steering can depend on micro magnetic assemblies calibrated to one hundredth of a gauss.
Industrial robotic arms use linear actuators and magnetic grippers to handle sheet metal and metal components rapidly. Magnetic flux stability enables smooth movement, sudden acceleration and millimetre-accurate stopping without mechanical wear.
From the powerful magnets used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment to microscopic blood-pumping systems for extracorporeal circulation, the precision and friction-free operation provided by custom magnetic couplings save lives every day by ensuring complete sterile isolation of biological fluids.
For manufacturing companies, investing in the design of a custom magnetic circuit is a key strategic choice for improving the efficiency, safety and technological reliability of their industrial systems.
Our team is ready to support you from simulation through final testing to develop the most suitable assembly for your application. Contact us.
