Re: [EE] Small electromagnet cores?

Er, ignorance?

The problem is, online metal sellers want me to specify an alloy, but I'm
not sure which of the many to choose. Finding a small enough rod is
difficult as well.

I don't want to buy a bunch of stuff to throw at the wall and see what
sticks, but I may end up doing so.

Just ordered some 3mm 1015 from Online Metals... It was cheap enough to be
worth the experiment.

Mike


On Mon, Jun 2, 2025, 12:08 PM Denny Esterline <[email protected]> wrote:

> I may be misunderstanding something, but why not just use a mild steel
> rather than stainless?
>
>
> -Denny
>
> On Mon, Jun 2, 2025 at 10:52 AM Mike Hord <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > Hey all-
> >
> > I'm trying to make a flip-dot display like this one:
> > https://hackaday.com/2021/05/29/3d-printed-flip-dots/
> >
> > I'm having a hard time with the electromagnet component of the project.
> OP
> > used 3mm threaded rod, and it seemed to work okay per his videos, but
> it's
> > not working for me at all.
> >
> > I'm relatively sure the problem is in the permeability of the core.
> > Stainless steel is not a great magnetic field conductor. I'm looking for
> > something better.
> >
> > Lots of searching has led me nowhere. I'm thinking of trying a nail next;
> > I'm wondering if anyone has any better ideas for a core? NB- I've seen
> the
> > "soft iron core" that Amazon sells; it's a bit expensive for my taste
> ($16
> > for 200mm; I would need four of those rods to complete the project).
> >
> > Mike
> > --
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