Introduction of Rare-earth Permanent Magnets Material NdFeB

Rare-earth permanent magnet Nd-Fe-B is a new kind of magnetic material developed in the 1980's with excellent magnetic characteristics in terms of high energy product, high coercive force etc. It is the most strong and powerful magnetic material up to now and regarded as The King of Magnet.　

Main application of rare-earth permanent magnets Nd-Fe-B

With excellent magnetic characteristics, abundant raw material and relatively low cost, Nd-Fe-B is under a very fast development and wide application. It is getting to replace the traditional magnet of Ferrite, Al-Ni-Co and Sm-Co in many field such as electro-accoustic device, electric motor, instrument and meter, auto industry, petro-chemical industry and magnetic health-care product.

Typical Appearance of rare-earth permanent magnets Nd-Fe-B

The basic and typical shape of the magnet used are disc, ring, tile and block( square). The surface is usually treated with zinc, nickel or epoxy resin coating.

The development of rare-earth permanent magnetic material

Rare-earth element has unique magnitic property. Rare-earth material produced with rare-earth is very important material in modern scientific technology and rare-earth material can be divided into three generations according to the development. The first generation of rare-earth permanent magnetic material ( SmCo5) alloy was developed in 1960's in the U.S.A. and used in military industry; the second generation of rare-earth permanent magnetic material (SmCoCuFeZr) is developed during 1970's and used in most of industries; the third generation of rare-earth permanent magnetic material is NdFeB alloy was successfully developed in 1980's in Japan. The invention of the third generation of rare-earth permanent magnetic material caught the attention of the world for the cost of the production of Nd-Fe-B is much decreased while the magnetic property prominently increased. In the production of NdFeB alloy, cheap Nd (neodymium) and Fe replace the expensive Sm and Co used in the first and second generation.

Market analysis of rare-earth permanent magnet material Nd-Fe-B and Nd (neodymium)
The total usage of permanent rare-earth magnet Nd-Fe-B of the world in 1990 is 2500 MT, 4000MT in 1992, 7000MT in 1997 and the annual consumption of permanent rare-earth magnet Nd-Fe-B will reach 10,000MT in the year 2000 according to forecast. The metal Nd (neodymium) is the main material for producing Nd-Fe-B ( accounts for about 35%). There are hundreds of factories producing Nd-Fe-B in China presently and the annual production capacity of Nd-Fe-B of 1998 has reached 4000MT. Calculating according, the demand for Nd (neodymium) and Nd (neodymium) alloy of the world will reach 3500MT by the year 2000. Domestic demand for the metal Nd (neodymium) will be 1000MT per year by the year 2000. China is rich in rare-earth reserve.Most countries need to import rare-earth elements from China. 80% of rare-earth material of Japan is imported from China.The market of metal Nd (neodymium) changes with the market of Nd-Fe-B.Currently the demand of permanent rare-earth magnet Nd-Fe-B in international market is increasing by 12-15% annually and domestic market over 20%. So, market of metal Nd( neodymium) is also showing a bright future.