What’s the difference between axially and diametrically magnetized magnets?Įxamples of diametrically magnetized magnets include D82DIA and D48DIA.ĭisc, cylinder and ring magnets are most commonly magnetized along their geometric axis. We are not able to change the direction of any of our stock magnets. That’s a lot weaker!Ī magnet’s magnetization direction can not be changed once the magnet is made. While N52 magnets have a strength of 52 MGOe, a magnet made to work in any direction might only achieve 10-12 MGOe. That “N” number relates to their maximum energy product, a measure of strength expressed in MegaGaussOersteds, or MGOe. Our magnets are typically made in grades like N42 and N52. If we made magnets that were just as easy to magnetize in any direction, they wouldn’t be nearly as strong. Neodymium magnets are made this way because we want them to be as strong as possible. Why must neodymium magnets have a preferred magnetization direction? You might think about it like a piece of wood, which has a grain running in one direction. Once a magnet is made, it can only be magnetized in that “preferred” direction.

The magnets are actually magnetized later in the process, long after they are formed. They are either pressed in the presence of a magnetic field, or undergo a second press (called die upsetting) that orients the magnetic domains in one direction. The key thing to keep in mind for this discussion is that these powerful magnets are formed with a preferred magnetization direction.

Depiction of Magnetic grains in NdFeB magnet, with arrows showing preferred magnetization direction of each grain

Magnetized goban