Why is it in the news?
A pilot plant for manufacturing Nd-Fe-B magnets was established at ARCI, Hyderabad.
It aims to boost domestic production of rare earth permanent magnets.
Category: S&T
Important Points:
● NdFeB magnet is the strongest permanent magnet in the world
● It is a tetragonal crystal made of neodymium, iron and boron
● It also contains elements like cobalt, dysprosium and praseodymium
● It is widely used in electronics such as mobile phones, hard drives and tools
● Sintered magnets are the most widely used type with highest output
● Bonded magnets are low cost and have high dimensional accuracy
● Hot-pressed magnets have similar properties without heavy rare earths
● It has high magnetic strength and high coercivity
● Properties vary depending on manufacturing process