We all are aware that magnets have magnetic field through which they can attract certain type of metals from a finite distance without physically touching them. There are some magnets, which are found naturally while a few magnets can be created. There are different kinds of magnets available and among them neodymium and ceramic magnets are extensively used for different projects.
Both of these magnets are called permanent magnets because once these materials are magnetically charged, they maintain their magnetic property for longer period, unless and until they are damaged by external forces. It is however not necessary that all types of permanent magnets are having the same characteristics. Both these types of magnets are created from different kinds of materials and therefore their strength and resilience will vary from each other. Let us look at their differences from different angles.
Ceramic Magnets
For pretty long time most of the magnets used were natural magnets with natural magnetic iron ore. During the year 1952 for the first time magnets were made from ceramic material. With the help of ceramic, materials engineers could create magnets of different shape as required. With the help of ceramic they could create more powerful magnets for various applications. Ceramic is a cheaper material and therefore it gained a lot of popularity in the market. They are also known as ferric magnet as they are created from Barium or Strontium ferrite.
Rare earth magnets
Following are the two types of rare earth magnets available
Samarium Cobalt (SmCo)
Neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB)
They are called rare earth magnets because they are available from rare earth. Samarium Cobalt magnets were discovered during the year 1970 and was the first rare earth magnet developed by scientists. Neodymium-iron-boron is available in market since 1984.
Strength comparison
The measurement of strength of various magnets are quantified by the amount of field produced by these magnets and is represented by BHmax. As the BHmax value increases, the strength of the magnet will be considered higher.
BHmax of Ceramic magnet is 3.5
BHmax of Samarium Cobalt magnet is 26
Bhmax of Neodymium-iron-boron magnet is 40
Resistance to thermal stress
If these magnets are heated up to certain temperature, then their magnetic strength tends to reduce. This temperature is known as Tmax. Therefore, care should be taken so that these magnets are not heated beyond this temperature. However, if they are again cooled then they regain their magnetic strength.
Tmax of Ceramic magnet 300 degrees Celsius
Tmax of Samarium Cobalt magnet and Neodymium-iron-boron magnet is 150 degrees Celsius
Durability comparison
These magnets can also lose their property because of other stresses.
Neodymium-iron-boron magnets are difficult to be machined as they are too brittle. Besides that they can also get corroded with natural atmosphere.
Samarium Cobalt magnets are comparatively less brittle however they also cannot be machined. They have however higher resistance to corrosion. These magnets are quite expensive too. You can however get neodymium magnets for sale in Walmart.
Ceramic magnets on the other hand are much cheaper and offer very good resistance to corrosion and demagnetization.