metal bracket on hard drive magnets ?

any one know what that bracket is made from. it seems to be a strong anti magnet metal of some kind.

neodynium a rare earth metal from what I hear.

The magnet itself is neodymium, the bracket is Permalloy.

Because NdFeB magnets corrode in air fairly quickly, nickel is electroplated onto the magnet and bracket.
These magnets are quite powerful, almost dangerous if they are strong enough. This poses a threat to computers, seeing as most data is magnetically sensitive (at least to some degree). To combat this problem, computer engineers make the magnet’s brackets out of an IRON, NICKEL and MOLYBDENUM based alloy called a permalloy! Permalloy has an extremely high magnetic permittivity, meaning it will stop most magnetic fields.

I got this from The Irrationalist's web blog.

I have a bunch of these. Do local yards usually buy them or do they need to be shipped to an escrap buyer?

E-bay them

Originally Posted by parrothead

E-bay them

How do you ship them? These things are strong. Pack a box full and it will be stuck to the delivery truck.

I have 20 or so pairs that are 1/2" thick magnet attached to a 1/3" thick casting (where the plate would be in a smaller version). Get a finger between two of them and you will be hurtin' for certain. Set a shipping box with those babies on a metal cart and you may have to ship the cart too!

Bill

Originally Posted by mrbillbus

How do you ship them? These things are strong. Pack a box full and it will be stuck to the delivery truck.

I have 20 or so pairs that are 1/2" thick magnet attached to a 1/3" thick casting (where the plate would be in a smaller version). Get a finger between two of them and you will be hurtin' for certain. Set a shipping box with those babies on a metal cart and you may have to ship the cart too!

Bill

I like Ur sense of humor. That sucker would be stick'n to perking meters, car bidies etc. Hahaha. Thanks 4 the chuckle friend. lb

I had a couple of the old fatboy magnets, I dropped one in each pocket of my coveralls, then attached screwdrivers, crescent wrenches, a hammer, etc to the 'outside' of the pockets. Got a few strange looks walking around the jobsite

Originally Posted by mrbillbus

How do you ship them? These things are strong. Pack a box full and it will be stuck to the delivery truck.

I have 20 or so pairs that are 1/2" thick magnet attached to a 1/3" thick casting (where the plate would be in a smaller version). Get a finger between two of them and you will be hurtin' for certain. Set a shipping box with those babies on a metal cart and you may have to ship the cart too!

Bill

This made me laugh about being stuck to the delivery truck. I could see the fedex driver trying to pick it up of the floor of his truck and not getting any where

Most yards do not currently set a price at the metals true value, many will not recognise it. There are specialist buyers however who will simply reuse the alloy its it's permalloy form. Because of this, theya re able to give the highest prices. If you can find these buyers and have the quantities to suit their needs, it currently holds a value of around $7 lb.

Originally Posted by harrisvh

Most yards do not currently set a price at the metals true value, many will not recognise it. There are specialist buyers however who will simply reuse the alloy its it's permalloy form. Because of this, theya re able to give the highest prices. If you can find these buyers and have the quantities to suit their needs, it currently holds a value of around $7 lb.

Any suggestions as to how to find such places? Are any of them in the US? What kind of a quantity would be needed to get such a price?

Originally Posted by KR74868

Any suggestions as to how to find such places? Are any of them in the US? What kind of a quantity would be needed to get such a price?

The price I got at the time was from people in the US. I think Gustavus mentioned getting that price amongst others. I weighed some pairs of brackets and they came in at 50-70g for the older ones giving the largest at 70g a value of $1.08 per pair. I haven't taken any brackets in as permalloy or Mu-metal scrap myself but it's usage and the fact that they are getting smaller and thinner with newer hard drives suggests strongly they hold value. If nickel goes back to its old highs the brackets will be worth triple what they are now.
I have also been saving the neodynium magnets with a neodynium price of about $160/kg and roughly 30g per pair for the larger older ones gives them a value of $4.80 per pair scrap value. I have no idea where you might sell them however but suspect that in time there will be somewhere. Neodynium bubbled at $480/kg last august (giving the magnets a scrap value of $14.40 per pair) but considering it started at $6/kg in 2008 that kind of whups silver and golds ass in price increase. I will save mine and see what the future brings.

You are correct they are very strong magnets. But the distance at which they stick to metal isnt very big. Try it once yourself. Try sticking something metal to the backside of the magnet while its still on the bracket. It wont stick. Now if you have a box full they tend to stick to each other magnet side to magnet side and usualy once in the box nothing really sticks to the box. Thats been my experience anyway.

Originally Posted by PartTimeScrapper

You are correct they are very strong magnets. But the distance at which they stick to metal isnt very big. Try it once yourself. Try sticking something metal to the backside of the magnet while its still on the bracket. It wont stick. Now if you have a box full they tend to stick to each other magnet side to magnet side and usualy once in the box nothing really sticks to the box. Thats been my experience anyway.

The metal bracket actually stops the magnetic waves from passing through it. Take that same magnet off the bracket and then try and stick something to the back of the magnet...

So where is the scrap value; the magnet or the bracket? I would think the nickel in the bracket would be what would draw a buyer. That would mean a better price for the bracket alone. Of course that leaves the unshielded magnet to contend with. Hmmm ...

Originally Posted by mrbillbus

So where is the scrap value; the magnet or the bracket? I would think the nickel in the bracket would be what would draw a buyer. That would mean a better price for the bracket alone. Of course that leaves the unshielded magnet to contend with. Hmmm ...

Both have value, the permalloy if you can get enough of it and the magnets sell well on ebay. I used to buy them myself 'till I realised Icould get much bigger stronger magnets for free. Only problem is loads of other people know as well now as their prices have dropped a lot and there's more for sale.

Well then what I said is right a box full of them wont stick to the delivery truck.