Cast Alnico Magnets

Cast AlNiCo Magnets

Alnico magnets are made primarily from aluminum, nickel, cobalt, copper, iron and sometimes titanium. The composition of alnico alloys is typically 8?C12% Al, 15?C26% Ni, 5?C24% Co, up to 6% Cu, up to 1% Ti, and the balance is Fe. They can be either cast or sintered. Cast alnico magnets is melted and and poured into a mold. Once solidified, the material is rough ground and then heat-treated and cooled, sometimes in a magnetic field. When treated in the presence of a magnetic field, the magnet is called anisotropic. This orients the material to take on maximum magnetization and allows a higher gauss level. A cast alnico magnetthat is not heat-treated in a magnetic field is called isotropic. After heat treatment and cooling, the material can be ground to specific tolerances and then magnetized.