Our Magnets Are Everywhere!
In our day to day lives, we rarely have the opportunity to see rare earth magnets with our own eyes, but because of the strength of their magnetic force, they are the ideal magnet for size reduction and energy conservation and are actually in use all around us. Here, we would like to introduce various devices that are indispensable in our lives and that use rare earth magnets.
Thin, large-screen TVs have compact, high sound quality speakers mounted in them. Rare earth magnets are used in these speakers and contribute to giving these speakers smaller size and higher sound quality.
Rare earth magnets are used in DVD recorders (players) and DVD writing heads (optic pickups) to accurately read the video and audio signals. Rare earth magnets are used also in the voice coil motors (VCM) that drive the heads that read and write the video and audio signals in the hard disk drives mounted in recorders with hard disk drives.
Air conditioners control the room temperature by compressing and expanding gas that is serving as a medium for heat. Rare earth magnets are used in the compressor motors that compress this gas. Using rare earth magnets increases the energy saving of air conditioners.
Heat pump type water heaters (Eco Cute) generate heat by compressing and expanding the same gas as air conditioners (*there are also many hot water heaters that use CO2) and use that heat to heat water. Rare earth magnets are used in the compressor motors for compressing the gas.
Refrigerators cool gas by compressing and expanding the same gas as air conditioners (*there are also many refrigerators that use CO2) and use that cooled gas to refrigerate and to freeze. Rare earth magnets are used in the compressor motors for compressing the gas.
Vacuum cleaners use motors turning high speed to suction up dirt. Rare earth magnets are used in vacuum cleaner motors and contribute to making them smaller and quieter.
Rare earth magnets are also used for various functions in the cell phones that have become indispensable in our lives. Of course, rare earth magnets are used in the speaker/receiver for talking and ring tones and the vibration motor for courtesy mode. In flip phones, rare earth magnets are also used in the sensors that detect when the phone is opened or closed and that automatically switch the LCD screen On/Off and reduce the drain on the battery.
Rare earth magnets are used in the mechanisms for image stabilization functions on digital cameras. Rare earth magnets are also mounted in the actuators used for zoom functions.
Rare earth magnets are used in the motors that turn drum type washers and dryers. Rare earth magnets help reduce the vibration and noise of washing machines.
In computer hard disk drives, rare earth magnets are used also in the voice coil motors (VCM) that drive the heads that read and write the signals. Rare earth magnets are used in CD/DVD reading and writing heads (optic pickups) to accurate read the video and audio signals.
Some iPods and other portable music players use hard disk drives as their storage device. Rare earth magnets are used in the head drive actuators (VCMs) for these hard disk drives. Rare earth magnets are also used in ear phones for high sound quality.
Rare earth magnets are used as assist motors on power-assisted bicycles for their compact size and light weight. They supplement the pedaling power.
Rare earth magnets are used in elevator wind-up motors. Through the use of rare earth magnets, designers succeeded in making elevator wind-up motors more compact, making it possible to install them in cargo passageways for going up and down rather than in the conventional separate machine room.
The information in bar codes is read out by shining light on (scanning) the bar codes. Rare earth magnets are used in the actuators for shining this light.