As motor vehicles become ever more driver-friendly, the number of electric motors on board continues to grow - and designers are under pressure to make them smaller, or more powerful, or even both at.

As motor vehicles become ever more driver-friendly, the number of electric motors on board continues to grow - and designers are under pressure to make them smaller, or more powerful, or even both at the same time. Specifying the right magnet is often crucial in these circumstances and the greatest potential is likely to be found amongst the rare earth materials, especially neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) grades. The Neomag S range of sintered NdFeB from Magnequench, for example, offers high energy products from 28 to 50MGOe (220-400kJ/m3), giving ample scope for developing all three of the scenarios outlined above.

In the case of designs where the space available for magnets is not a conventional shape, the answer could be provided by Neomag I - injection-moulded grades that can be produced in complex shapes, often in a ready-to-install form.

For NdFeB generally, price is no longer the stumbling block that it used to be - and recently developed sintered grades have raised the operating temperature ceiling to 200 degrees C, bringing within range previously unachievable 'under the bonnet' applications.

Other devices for which Neomag grades can provide a valuable trade-off between size and performance include sensors, generators and couplings.