Basic research carried out in the mid 1930’s around the globe resulted in numerous patents for new permanent magnet alloys. One of the most promising was an alloy created from ALuminum, NIckle, CObalt and Iron, or as it became known as, Alnico.

In the decades following the development of Alnico, advanced casting techniques were created , such as pouring molten alloys into heated molds against cold steel chill plates to promote crystalline grain growth, experimentation with heat treatment, specialized magnetic orientation fixtures, and rapid quenching and long-term annealing that resulted in superior magnetic properties and temperature stability.

Powdered metallurgy was later added to offer the ability to produce Alnico alloys in a variety of shapes to near finished dimensional conditions with product densities that allow magnetic properties to rival those of cast alloys.

Additional development and refinement of casting techniques, alloy chemistry, heat treatment and magnetic orientation processes has continued throughout Thomas & Skinner’s long history. Today Thomas & Skinner produces sub-grades of the most common Alnico alloys that are tailored to meet our customer’s specific needs, working within difficult load lines, or balancing coercive and inductive properties for demanding applications.