Thread: Electromagnet Desing

I plan to use two electromagnets (With a magnetic core) to make a magnet move back and forth on a rail. I plan to place the two electromagnets on the both the ends of the rail. The travel length of the magnet is 0.5 inch.
Then depending on the direction of movement of the magnet, I plan to pull the magnet with the electromagnet on the end of the railing it needs to move towards and push the magnet with the electromagnet on the end it is moving from.
The magnet I plan to move is a Samarium Cobalt magnet that has dimensions of 1 inch by 1 inch by 1 inch. How big an electromagnet would I need. I was also wanting to know how much voltage and current would I need to make this work.

I dunno but let us know how it works out. Oh, and why do you want to do this?

Originally Posted by sciencetech

I plan to use two electromagnets (With a magnetic core) to make a magnet move back and forth on a rail. I plan to place the two electromagnets on the both the ends of the rail. The travel length of the magnet is 0.5 inch.
Then depending on the direction of movement of the magnet, I plan to pull the magnet with the electromagnet on the end of the railing it needs to move towards and push the magnet with the electromagnet on the end it is moving from.
The magnet I plan to move is a Samarium Cobalt magnet that has dimensions of 1 inch by 1 inch by 1 inch. How big an electromagnet would I need. I was also wanting to know how much voltage and current would I need to make this work.

If you have the proper materials, the electromagnets won't need to be very large. You need to use magnet wire - a special wire with a VERY thin coating of insulation - and the voltage required will depend entirely on the number of turns of wire. The actual amount of current needed is unimportant, it's the voltage and number of turns that determine the strength of the electromagnet.

Using a small gauge wire, one or two hundred turns should work fine powered by a standard 9v battery.