What is a maxel?
A maxel is a single magnetic pixel: one small region of a magnet's face magnetised to point north or south. A conventional magnet has one north face and one south face. A coded magnet's face is divided into many maxels, each set individually, and the arrangement of those maxels is what gives the magnet its behaviour.
How is that different from an ordinary magnet?
An ordinary magnet is effectively a one-maxel magnet — the whole face points one way. Once you can set many small regions independently, the magnet stops being simply “strong” and starts having a designed response: it can align itself, latch, spring back, click into positions or release with a twist.
Does dividing the face into maxels make the magnet weaker?
At a distance, yes, and deliberately so. Adjacent opposite poles cancel each other out as you move away, so a coded magnet reaches out far less than a plain magnet of the same material. Up close, where the poles have not yet cancelled, it can hold very firmly. That trade is the entire point rather than a drawback.
Why would you want a magnet that does not reach far?
Because reach is usually the problem. A plain magnet collects swarf, wipes cards, interferes with nearby electronics and grabs at things you did not intend. A coded magnet with a short field does its job on contact and is comparatively inert an inch away.
How many maxels does a magnet have?
It depends on the size of the part and the resolution of the magnetiser. More, smaller maxels give a more precise behaviour and a shorter reach; fewer, larger ones give more raw force and a coarser response. It is a design trade rather than a quality setting.
Can you see the maxels?
Yes, with magnetic viewing film. It is a sheet containing fine particles suspended in oil that align with the field, so the pole pattern shows up as a visible image. It is the standard way to check a part was magnetised the way it was designed to be.
Can any magnet be printed with maxels?
In principle any hard magnetic material can be selectively magnetised, but the practical work is done on neodymium and ferrite. The material sets the strength and the temperature limit; the maxel pattern sets the behaviour. They are separate choices.
Does the pattern wear out?
The pattern is magnetisation, not a coating, so nothing rubs off. It degrades under the same conditions any magnet does: heat above the material's operating limit, a strong opposing field, or physical damage to the part.
Something not covered?
Describe what the magnet has to do and we will tell you honestly whether a coded magnet is the right answer — including when it is not.
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