Price increases and order delays.  No company wants to be responsible for them, and no buyer wants to be inconvenienced by them.

However, sometimes such occurrences are inevitable, and the magnet production industry is currently struggling with these issues.  As a global leader, Adams has been able to limit their impact more than other companies during these industry-wide challenges. But over the past few months even we have not been immune to the realities of the global economic situation.

If you’ve placed an order recently, you may have noticed that we are experiencing price increases and lead time extensions on some of our magnetic assemblies. As a valued customer you deserve to know why these things are happening. (more…)

Question: Justin writes: I was wondering the method or type of tool used to cut .030″ thick magnet sheets? I have an art project and was wondering the best, most clean way to cut the sheet so that it leaves the smoothest edges possible. What do you use for cutting them? Thanks

Answer: Hello Justin. Thank you for the question.  There are a number of ways you can accomplish your goal.  We use special equipment which is designed specifically for use with magnetic sheet.  It is highly automated and developed to handle large volume production runs and may not be a feasible solution for you.  Instead, I think you would be better served by using one of two fairly simple methods. (more…)

Question: David Sharpe writes:  We have a flatbed printer and solvent printer and we are looking for the best magnetic product to use for Car Magnets. One of our clients just had some of the ones that we are using blow off of her car.

Answer: Unfortunately, this issue is not as uncommon as you would think, mostly because there are a number of possible contributing factors.  However, let’s start by addressing your question specifically.

When making magnetic car signs we first have to be concerned with the thickness of the magnetic sheet.  Its thickness is directly related to its strength (pounds of pull).  It has been universally accepted throughout our industry that the minimum acceptable thickness for automobile signs is .030”, also commonly referred to as 30mil.  Anything less than .030” may not provide the pounds of pull required to withstand the external forces an automobile sign is subjected to.
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Question: Deborah Foster writes: We have a greeting card company and want to expand to refrigerator magnets. What is the least expensive way to get into this and the least labor intensive?

Answer: There are several ways you could expand into refrigerator magnets.  A few ideas include:

1. Tipping or gluing printed magnets into your existing card designs.  The magnets could match the artwork of your current card designs.
2. Adding a magnet strip to the inside front cover of existing card designs.  This would work well if you offer cards that have photo frames incorporated into the cover.  Adams can provide magnetic strips with adhesive pre-cut or scored to the desired size.
3. You could expand into postcard greetings that have magnets glued or laminated to them.

If you want an easy and inexpensive way to make prototypes of your refrigerator magnet ideas, you can use our PrintMAG magnet sheet in your ink jet printer to make mock-ups.

There are companies like Magnetic Attractions or Rainbow Magnetics who print magnets and can package them in bulk or individually for retail, or they can tip/glue and laminate them to card stock.  They can even print the card stock if you like.

Please let us know if you’d like to see samples of what we describe above, or if you have any additional questions.  If you’d like to discuss any of this in person, please give us a call at 800-222-6686.  Thanks Deborah!

We are often asked about shipping magnets by air, and thought we’d take a minute to write about it.  Adams Magnetic Products’ general policy is to ship all magnetized products using ground transportation.  When necessary, we can prepare magnets for air shipment with sufficient shielding to make sure they travel safely.

In order for magnets to be shipped by air: Flux measurements of all packages containing magnets must measure less than 0.00525 gauss 15 feet from the package.  When not packaged properly for air shipment purposes, magnets are considered “dangerous goods” and the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR) must be followed.

Packaging magnetic materials for air shipment must be accomplished considering the above. Powerful magnetic components and assemblies need to be shielded so that magnetic fields will meet air shipment criteria.  We recommend that you consult your carrier for more information and guidelines.

An example of how magnetic fields can be contained is illustrated in the images below.

Unshielded Magnet

Shielded Magnet

Important: This post does not fully state the regulations. The information provided herein is intended to inform that FAA and IATA regulations exist and that they should be understood before shipping magnets by air.

pull test equipment in action

Question: “Scott the PAINTER” from California asks: I recently purchased several round base style magnets from the hardware store and they don’t seem to work properly.  I spoke with the folks at the store and they told me there is nothing wrong with them.  They attached them to those orange beams in the store and they worked great.  I am using them on the roof of my car to hold a small sign for my business.  The packaging stated that they would hold 80 pounds.  In the store they felt really strong but when I applied them to the roof of my car it felt like I could pull them off with less then 80 pounds of effort.  Can you explain to me why this is happening?  My car is made of steel.  I have already had one sign blow off and I can’t afford to loose another one, please help.

Answer: Hello Scott,  Thank you for your post.  This is a common issue we have experienced with magnetic assemblies.  When Adams Magnetic Products or any other magnet manufacturer test their assemblies we base the results on a .375″ thick piece of steel (more…)

Our strong selection of overstock magnets could have just what you need for your next project!  We’ve just updated our overstock list, and added images and pricing for all our overstock magnetic assemblies.  Take a look and you may find something you’d like to have around to test in future projects.  If you see anything you want to try, let us know and we’ll send you a sample.  Here’s a link to the full list with images, descriptions and pricing: ADAMS OVERSTOCK.  When you get there, just select what type of magnet you’re looking for from the drop down menu, and press GO!

Hello world! We’re excited to launch the first official blog for the magnet industry. We are engineers, salesmen, marketers, product managers, and executives from Adams Magnetic Products who offer different perspectives, but share the same passion for magnets and how they improve our world. We hope this blog provides you with a deeper insight into our work and who we are. We’re very excited to be out here talking to you!

At the end of each post, you can click on the author’s name to get bio and profile information. We’ll also have guest bloggers from the magnet industry and industries served by magnets to provide you with additional perspectives and insights.

Keep on the lookout for upcoming posts from our team members this week and beyond. If you’re interested, RSS and Atom feeds are available for all posts or specific categories. Let us know what you think by posting your comments below or by sending us e-mail at info@adamsmagnetic.com. And thanks for joining us in our newest venture.

Thanks so much for visiting our magnet blog. Enjoy!

- The Magnet Blog Team