Anyone have a source for accurately sized magnets outside of Bambu?
I’ve been waiting months for many of the magnets to come in stock in Maker Supply. I have models I’d like to upload, but I can’t properly show the function if I can’t even source magnets that are needed.
Everything I’ve ordered from Amazon are NOT sized correctly and are extremely inconsistent. Big reason I started modeling my parts using Bambu magnets is that they are properly sized and of good quality. Now I’m at a point where I feel that I’ve given enough time and I need to move away from using Maker Supply parts. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Just a tip: it would be good if you mentioned which country you’re from - if I’m not mistaken, your profile says you’re from the US?
As you’ve already realised, Amazon only sells cheap magnets - to be precise, the same products that you can order from AliExpress at the regular price, rather than the inflated Amazon price.
I don’t personally know of any specific retailers in the US, but I can tell you exactly how a website and associated product information should be presented - something that Amazon, for example, doesn’t do. This is what it should look like:
Everything else is just junk: A reputable dealer knows the pull, the dimensions, the alloy, etc. If there isn’t a long description like 42NE301412-NI or Q-10-04-1.5-N, you can forget about that dealer right away.
All reputable retailers provide a precise product description that accurately describes the magnet, including tolerances:
I appreciate you taking the time to share your information. I’m far from an expert on magnets, so any information is appreciated.
I probably could have mentioned my country (US), but I’m hoping to find a source that may be more widely available if possible. I wasn’t sure if anyone had found or used another reliable source other than Bambu. From what I can see, other countries may be exhibiting similar stock shortages on magnets in the shop.
I could probably design around using magnets, but I’m a ■■■■■■ for including them wherever I can.
It is a more expensive option, but I really like McMaster Carr for stuff like bolts and magnets.
The selection is huge and they offer next day shipping on almost all of their items. The downside is that you pay a significant premium over some cheap Chinese crap from amazon or alixpress.
If you haven’t received a notice, magnets are now in stock, and are going fast! I placed some in the cart and while spending the next 15 mins or so looking for something else to add to the order, one of the magnets sold out
I’ve used K&J Magnetics before and was happy with the order. Big selection, lots of good information on their website about magnet types and strength, polarity information, etc.
I wasn’t actually holding them to spec on sizing. I just measured whatever they happened to be to make proper recesses in models for them. They were uniform sizes if that counts for anything but it’s been a while and I don’t remember just how uniform. They all fit properly in their recesses though.
I appreciate you sharing your experience. I think I just need to order some from the more popular choices out there and see how well they actually match their advertised measurements.
I was looking to see if they had any specifications on sizing tolerances and haven’t found any but I did find a size chart for cylinder/disk magnets and they specify sizes in mm to two decimal places.
In technical spaces that should mean they control down to +/- 1/100 of a millimeter but who knows?
There is a customer service email listed on their pages. I bet they could give you hard numbers.
For one’s own use, that is fine. For models that one may want to share on MakerWorld, it is better to use those from the BL store to ensure fit for users. This is also why it is important for @BambuLab to have consistent stock of Maker’s Supply. Otherwise, users can’t order what are in the BOM and won’t download or print the models.
I figure if you provide supplier information that’s just as good. I know it makes sense to use things from the Bambu store so people get convenience of ordering or just have a supplier, but Bambu is very short on detailed information on some parts, or what’s available may not be right for some purpose. But people can see if Bambu has compatible items on their own, too. Probably most that use Bambu parts are happy to list Bambu as a source.
Either way, model creators will call out things needed to complete a model but no doubt landing a parts assortment for a big project is more lucrative.
Yeah, I feel your pain on this one. Waiting months for basic magnets is ridiculous. It’s holding up models that could already be up and making points.
RetroSharky is spot on about the Amazon magnets being garbage. I’ve been burned by them too. Same with AliExpress - you never know what you’re actually getting until it shows up.
Have you tried K&J Magnetics? They’re US-based, ship fast, and actually list tolerances properly. Not the cheapest but the consistency is worth it. McMaster-Carr is another solid option for industrial-grade stuff.
If you’re looking at bulk orders, I’ve had good luck with a Chinese supplier called Ningbo… I can dig up the name if you’re interested. But for one-offs, K&J has been a lifesaver for functional prints that need tight tolerances.
Also, Bambu really needs to sort their supply chain. It’s been a recurring issue for over a year now.
Well that’s two suggestions for K&J, so I went ahead and took a look and ordered a few magnets to try them out. Prices are definitely a lot higher and their metric options are almost non existent, but I figure I’ll see if they are at least accurate to what they advertise, which is arguably more important.
