These magnet end covers are made from a standard rectangular aluminium extrusion 100 x 50 x 3 mm.
The only milling required on this part is the clambar locating groove
in the top surface. This can be milled with a ball-nosed end mill, or,
since the material is relatively soft, it can even be done with an
ordinary (shortened) twist drill sharpened to a rounded end.
This end cover design represents a new way of finishing the ends of the Magnabend magnet.
With this arrangement the magnet maintains full clamping right up to
the ends of the magnetic poles, which is to within 25mm of each end.
Previous designs, where the front and back of the magnet were longer
than the middle part, allowed fringing and thinning of the magnetic
flux in the end regions with consequently some loss of clamping force.
The design of these covers makes it easy to perform final alignment adjustments:-
With the mounting screws lightly nipped up the cover can be tapped into place before the final tightening of the screws.
These covers are symetrical so that each cover is identical; there is no need for right and left hand versions.