source：Financial Newspaper
Sintered magnets refer to permanent magnets manufactured through a metallurgical process called sintering which involves heating and compacting (finely pulverized) magnetic powder into the desired shape and size. Liquid phase sintering is the preferred process for manufacturing permanent sintered magnets. Post sintering, these magnets are machined to achieve dimensional accuracy and be prepared for application. Sintered permanent magnets are widely used across the globe. They are available in several sizes and exhibit substantial variety in terms of style. Several magnetic powders and mixtures are used to manufacture sintered magnets. These include elements such as iron, cobalt, aluminum, nickel, neodymium, samarium, and boron.
Sintered magnets are powerful and exhibit high magnetic strength required for most applications in the industry. These magnets perform better and deliver substantial output in applications such as electric motors, generators, alternators, hard disks, and servo motors. They are revolutionizing energy storage and power generation. Permanent sintered magnets help increase the efficiency of generator motors, drive motors, and servo motors, resulting in significant power savings. Furthermore, they are imperative in the manufacture of hard drives and other electronic & electrical applications. With demand for hard drives soaring due to the monumental rise in data production every year, the need for permanent magnets is also bound to increase substantially. On the other hand, sintered magnets made of rare earth elements such as sintered NdFeB and SmCo are facing severe raw material supply issues. China is the world’s leading producer of rare earth metals, which is why its trade policies and stockpiling of rare earth elements are causing disruptions in the production of sintered rare earth magnets, restraining the market supply.
The sintered magnet market can be segmented based on product type into the sintered rare earth & sintered ferrite, AlNiCo, and other varieties. Sintered rare earth magnets can be further divided into the NdFeB and SmCo sub-varieties. Sintered ferrite magnets are extensive used as they offer decent properties and are relatively inexpensive. However, sintered rare earth magnets have developed their niche and become irreplaceable in certain applications. On the basis of orientation, sintered magnets are bifurcated into the isotropic and anisotropic categories. By application, sintered magnets find significant usage in almost all sectors including automotive, electrical, electronics, industrial, power generation, consumer goods, and others. Electronics is a significant application closely flowed by automotive and consumer goods.
Geographically, the global sintered magnet market can be distributed over Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific is a major market for sintered magnets as Japan, China, and South Korea are electronics manufacturing hubs, resulting in monumental consumption of magnets in these countries. Furthermore, India, China, and Japan also possess emerging automotive industries. Europe is the next big market for sintered magnets primarily due to demand from the region’s immense automotive production. Furthermore, its shift from fossil fuels to renewables, primarily wind energy, is anticipated to fuel the demand for sintered NdFeB for wind turbine generators. North America also retains established consumer goods and automotive industries, leading to significant demand for sintered magnets in the region.
Prominent players operating in the global sintered magnet market include Arnold Magnetic Technologies, Neo Magnequench, and Alliance LLC. However, the market is largely dominated by numerous unorganized manufactures from China.