Category

Technical Magnet Applications

04/04/2016
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Mining-inspired interactive sculpture brought to life with magnets

At first4magnets we are proud to have worked with many inspirational creative people over the years including artists, sculptors, architects and designers and we literally jump at the chance to help with creative projects. After all, magnets are a wonderful tool for creating interactive works of art as they instil a sense of wonder and curiosity in anyone who handles them. Recently, we were approached by artist Jenny Hall, Creative Director at Craftedspace who had a vision to create an exhibition that explored mining and the links between destruction and... Read More

13/01/2016
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Replacing the magnet in a speaker

Finely tuned speakers can cost hundreds of pounds, however, when you open up a speaker the basic fundamental parts are startlingly similar whether you are looking at a high-end brand made from the finest materials or a budget portable speaker. They all use the power of magnets. Before we look at how to specifically remove and replace a magnet in a speaker, we’ll firstly take a look at the science behind how magnetism is used to create sound. Audible sound is a result of vibrations and a speaker creates these... Read More

01/12/2014
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The World’s first unpowered horizontal magnetic levitation device

To anyone interested in magnets and magnetism levitation and devices that facilitate this are fascinating, none more-so than the Halitron™. The Halitron is the world’s first unpowered horizontal magnetic levitation device and has just been launched via an exciting Kickstarter campaign. The Halitron lets you spin and levitate a top within a carefully calculated magnetic field. The magnetic field effectively traps the spinning top, allowing it to float in mid-air. The magnets used are ferrite magnets and no electrical power is required to operate the Halitron. First4magnets is proud to... Read More

29/08/2013

Using magnets to release a miners’ safety lamp magnetic lock

Mining has always been a dangerous job. It was particularly dangerous in the 1800s when miners had to carry naked flames to light their way, which led to many fatal explosions. Without doubt, one of the single biggest changes to improve safety for miners was the invention of the safety lamp; an invention which no doubt saved hundreds of lives over the years. After miners’ safety lamps were replaced in the 1930s by battery-powered helmet lamps they became obsolete, although some were still used to identify dangerous gasses into the... Read More

31/07/2013

Lathe Magnets – Using Magnets for Metal Lathing

Using workshop lathes can create a great amount of dust, debris and cleaning up. Depending on the type of lathe you are using and the material you are lathing you can drastically reduce the amount of debris created. Ray from Cornwall contacted us to tell us how he used our magnets to try and minimise the debris created in his workshop when working with metal on his lathe. Ray ordered a selection of our magnets to permanently fix onto three primary sections of his lathe. Ray placed a single magnet... Read More

31/07/2013

Galley Magnets – Letterpress Printing

Technology for printing on magnetic sheets and onto magnetic surfaces is now very common and readily available across the world. Digital photo printing can be done with the touch of a button over the internet and from any computer or smartphone device.  With so many ways to get your photos, artwork and posters printed how do you ensure that the product you receive will stand out from the crowd? Gordon from Cambridgeshire contacted first4magnets.com to tell us how he had used our magnets to print a poster for a local... Read More

31/07/2013

Dynamic Microphone Magnets

It is without question that Neodymium magnets are one of the most important and key components of a modern microphone. Useful fact: Our high quality Neodymium magnets produce magnetic fields which cut through the coil inside the microphone and as the coil moves back and forth through the magnetic field generated by the magnet, it creates an electric current which allows the sound waves to travel to your amplifier or headphones. Bjarni contacted us from Iceland to tell us how his father builds Icelandic Ribbon Microphones using magnets bought from... Read More