China has the largest rare earth reserves in the world. NdFeB is one of the strongest magnetic materials found in the world at present. Its magnetic performance is 10 times higher than that of ferrite, which is widely used in the past, and nearly twice higher than that of the second generation rare earth magnet (Sm-Co permanent magnet). Using “iron” instead of “cobalt” as raw material reduces the dependence on scarce strategic materials, greatly reduces the cost, and makes the wide application of rare earth permanent magnets possible. NdFeB is an ideal material for manufacturing high-efficiency, miniaturized and lightweight magnetic functional devices, which will have a revolutionary impact on many application fields. Due to my country’s advantages in rare earth raw material resources, my country has become the world’s largest supplier of NdFeB magnetic materials, accounting for about 85% of global production. Let’s discuss the application fields of NdFeB products.
I. New energy vehicles
NdFeB permanent magnet material is one of the main functional materials of new energy vehicles. NdFeB material has excellent performance and is used to manufacture motors, which can realize “NdFeB technology” on automotive motors. For cars, only the use of small motors can reduce the weight of the car, improve safety, reduce exhaust emissions, and improve the overall performance of the car. NdFeB magnetic materials are more and more widely used in new energy vehicles. Each hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) consumes about 1KG more NdFeB magnets than traditional vehicles. In pure electric vehicles (EV), rare earth permanent magnet motors replace traditional power generation. The secret is that about 2KG of NdFeB is used.
II. Aerospace Field
Rare earth permanent magnet motors are mainly used in various electrical systems on aircraft. The electric braking system is a drive system which uses the electric motor as the brake. Widely used in aircraft flight control systems, environmental control systems, braking systems, fuel and starting systems. Due to the excellent magnetic properties of rare earth permanent magnets, a strong permanent magnetic field can be established without additional energy after magnetization. The rare earth permanent magnet motor made by using it instead of the traditional motor field has not only high efficiency, but also simple structure, reliable operation, small volume and light weight. It can not only achieve high performance (such as ultra-high efficiency, ultra-high speed, ultra-high response speed) that traditional excitation motors cannot achieve.
III. Wind power generation
In the era of increasing energy pressure, converting wind energy into electric energy is receiving policy support from governments all over the world. Wind power generation is a power generation method that converts wind energy into electric energy through wind turbines, and is currently the main way to use wind energy. As a clean, low-carbon renewable resource, wind power is actively developing in more than 80 countries around the world. In the field of wind power generation, high-performance NdFeB is mainly used in direct-drive, half-drive and high-speed permanent magnet wind turbines. It uses the fan impeller to directly drive the generator to rotate. It is characterized by permanent magnet excitation, no excitation winding, and no slip on the rotor. Rings and brushes, so the structure is simple and the work is reliable. The use of high-performance NdFeB reduces the weight of wind turbines and improves efficiency. At present, a 1MW unit uses about 1 ton of NdFeB. With the rapid growth of the wind power industry, the amount of NdFeB used in wind turbines will also increase rapidly.
IV. Consumer Electronics
1. Mobile phones
High-performance NdFeB is an indispensable high-end accessory component in smartphones. The electro-acoustic part of smartphones (micro microphones, micro speakers, Bluetooth headsets, high-fidelity stereo headphones), vibration motors, camera focus and even sensor applications, wireless charging and other functions require the strong magnetic properties of NdFeB.
2. Other consumer electronics devices and smart homes.
V. Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Manufacturing
Artificial intelligence and intelligent manufacturing have attracted more and more attention. Intelligent robots have become the core technology for human beings to transform the world, and drive motors are the core components of robots. Inside the drive system, miniature NdFeB can be seen everywhere. According to the data, permanent magnet servo motors and NdFeB permanent magnet motors are currently the mainstream robot motors. Servo motors, controllers, sensors and reducers are the core components of robot control systems and automation products. The joint activities of robot are all realized by the drive motor, which requires a very large power-to-mass ratio and moment-to-inertia ratio. The starting torque is large, the inertia is small, and the speed range is smooth and wide. In particular, the actuator (claw) at the end of the robot should use small and light motors as much as possible; When fast response is required, the driving motor must also have a large short-term overload capacity; Higher reliability and stability are the key to drive motors and the prerequisites for the application of industrial robots, so rare earth permanent magnet motors are the most suitable.
VI. Medical equipment
In the medical field, the emergence of NdFeB magnets has promoted the development and miniaturization of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Permanent magnet RMI-CT MRI equipment used to use ferrite permanent magnets with a magnetic weight of 50 tons. After using NdFeB permanent magnet materials, each MRI machine only needs 0.5 tons to 3 tons of permanent magnets, but the magnetic field strength can be doubled, greatly improving image clarity. Moreover, NdFeB permanent magnet equipment has the advantages of the smallest occupied space, the least flux leakage, and the lowest operating cost.
