Magnet Pull Industry Standards
Looking for an industry standard for pull strength for the magnets in the feed throats of our hoppers. We have been asked more and more frequently by our customers how we are testing. We hadn't been, just inspecting the magnets and cleaning them. We just ordered a tester, but we don't have a specification to give the team that will be performing the test to let them know they are good or bad. We produce product for the food industry so I want to stay proactive and provide information our customers need.
Looking for some help. Thank you in advance.
Minimum 10,000 gauss if I am not wrong.
Looking for an industry standard for pull strength for the magnets in the feed throats of our hoppers. We have been asked more and more frequently by our customers how we are testing. We hadn't been, just inspecting the magnets and cleaning them. We just ordered a tester, but we don't have a specification to give the team that will be performing the test to let them know they are good or bad. We produce product for the food industry so I want to stay proactive and provide information our customers need.
Looking for some help. Thank you in advance.
Hi Heidi,
From BRC Guidance -
The magnet’s strength should be designed to ensure that it is sufficient to capture metal foreign bodies. A number of factors should be considered when determining the correct strength – for example, the type of product (e.g. the size of the food particles), the width of the conveyor belt, chute or other equipment in which the magnets are located, and the flow rate of the food or raw material.
Nonetheless, sort of as per previous Post, see this post and thread -
I suggest you find out the make and model of the magnets you have and contact the manufacturer for the specifications of the magnets you are using. The magnet pull test or whatever method you are using to test the magnet should read within the range of the specifications given.
As CharlesC. shared above, you will need to determine if the specs of the magnet are meeting the requirements needed for the product you are testing and the method you are using.
What is the smallest size particle of ferromagnetic metal that is allowed in your product? Checking the magnets and cleaning them does not guarantee that they have a strong enough "pull" to catch everything that need to catch.
So 10,000 minimum gauss may not be enough if the metal particle is in the middle of the hopper stream.
Ideally your magnets should trap every (magnetable) metal particle that is larger than what the FDA/USDA allows.
Note that stainless steel and other metals cannot be magnetized.
What is the smallest size particle of ferromagnetic metal that is allowed in your product? Checking the magnets and cleaning them does not guarantee that they have a strong enough "pull" to catch everything that need to catch.
So 10,000 minimum gauss may not be enough if the metal particle is in the middle of the hopper stream.
Ideally your magnets should trap every (magnetable) metal particle that is larger than what the FDA/USDA allows.
Note that stainless steel and other metals cannot be magnetized.
How about the SS test sample for metal detectors ? (admittedly it's a difficult detection though).
IIRC some intrinsically non-magnetic steels can also become magnetized through "working" in usage.
We have bought a tool to test pull strength and are going through all machines, new and old, to see where we currently stand. By establishing this baseline, we are hoping to develop a reasonable standard. The manufacturers were a little help, but not as definite as we would have hoped. Thank you for all the responses!