Some of the most precious and valuable elements on Earth are buried deep beneath the surface, just waiting to be found. While diamonds, gold and silver are the first that come to mind, lesser known, exotic elements like neodymium, a rare earth magnet, may be the most invaluable of all. It isn’t shiny or beautiful, but this silvery-grey magnet is expensive and highly sought after. Miners crawl deep into open pit mines, thousands of feet below the surface and appear with truckloads of the unimpressive looking chunks of metal. The raw element is shipped in large steel barrels to a manufacturing facility, where it is finely ground into powder and pressed into high temperature molds. Neodymium exhibits some extraordinary and unusual properties. When compounded with iron and boron, this magnet creates a magnetic field up to 25 times more powerful than those made from standard ferrites. It has exceptional resistance to demagnetization, and very small volumes provide the best performance of any magnet out there. [Continue Reading Article]

Included in President Barack Obama’s historical inauguration speech was a striking statement on his vision for the future of our energy industry. “We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.” Perhaps this statement sounds a little over-the-top to you – a little too epic. But honestly, what could be more epic than shifting the world’s energy source from petroleum to wind energy, solar power and compressed air? So far it seems President Obama is making good on his word. According to an article published today in the Washington Bureau, the U.S. Interior Department has “cleared the way” for domestic offshore wind farms by finalizing guidelines. Projects are being considered for constructing wind farms off the United States’ Atlantic coast, namely Rhode Island and Massachusetts. A project long delayed by the previous administration’s procrastination in laying out legislative guidelines for offshore windfarms (and by the Kennedy family’s distaste for having the view from Martha’s Vineyard off Cape Cod marred by wind turbines), it looks like a shift from offshore oil fields to offshore windfarms are soon to be underway. [Continue Reading Article]

It’s a very common question, becoming more common by the day as manufacturers are forced to tighten budgets and cut out marketing campaigns. Where should I concentrate on increasing online visibility – in the top 3 search engines (Google, MSN, Yahoo) or on vertical search directory sites? The answer is both. Enquiro Search Solutions found that 49% of potential business buyers searching online don’t start their research at one of the three "search kings". If nearly half of professional purchasers aren’t starting out looking on Google, MSN or Yahoo to find waterjet cutting services, then where are they looking? Manufacturers and retailers have little time to wade through irrelevant search results, white papers and YouTube home videos to find the industrial parts they need. That’s why web-savvy industrial product buyers come to vertical search directories like IQS to find the niche product manufacturer or service provider they’re looking for – without having to hit the back button a dozen times. [Continue Reading Article]

The magnet is one of civilization’s oldest and most useful tools. Most people would be surprised to learn how many items and conveniences in our daily lives are made possible by magnets. I say most people, but certainly not all; manufacturers of industrial magnets and veterans of the agricultural, mining and metal fabricating industries are well aware of magnets’ many diverse – and essential – uses. [Continue Reading Article]

When you buy expensive metals, you might be getting something you don’t want and not know it. You could be buying defects that you would rather not have, and your supplier may not realize he sent you defective material. The only way to know for sure is to test he parts nondestructively... [Continue Reading Article]

Many motor manufacturers are going offshore to purchase or manufacture motor components... [Continue Reading Article]