Inline magnet inspection using fast high resolution MagCam magnetic field mapping and analysis

Driven by a clear industrial need for advanced inspection equipment for high-end permanent magnets for drives, sensors, medical applications, consumer electronics and other applications, we present a new magnetic measurement technology, called a ‘magnetic field camera’, a powerful and unique measurement platform for fast and accurate live inspection of both uniaxial and multipole permanent magnets. It is based on high resolution - high speed 2D mapping of the magnetic field distribution, using a patented semiconductor chip with an integrated 2D array of over 16000 microscopic Hall sensors. The measured magnetic field maps are analyzed by powerful data analysis software which uses advanced algorithms to extract unprecedented magnet information from the MagCam measurements. All these quantitative magnet properties can be tested against user-defined quality tolerances for immediate and automated pass/fail or classification analyses, all in real time. The system can be remotely operated using standard industrial communication protocols for integration in production lines. Its applications include inspection of incoming magnets, automated inline magnet quality control and research and development of magnets and magnetic systems and more.