Can I Drill or Machine Neodymium Magnets?
Generally, no. Neodymium magnets are hard and brittle like ceramic: they chip, crack or shatter instead of cutting cleanly, and they quickly ruin ordinary drill bits. Machining heat can demagnetize the magnet, and the fine dust is flammable. If you need a hole, buy a Countersunk, Ring or Pot magnet instead.
Why Machining Is Dangerous
- Fire: neodymium dust and chips can ignite, and the fire is hard to put out.
- Shattering: the magnet can crack and throw sharp fragments.
- Heat: friction heat can push the magnet past its temperature limit and weaken it.
- Corrosion: cutting through the plating exposes bare material that rusts.
How Manufacturers Shape Magnets
Magnet makers shape the material before it’s plated and magnetized, using diamond grinding wheels, diamond saws and electrical discharge machining (EDM), with plenty of coolant. See how neodymium magnets are made.
Magnets with Holes, Ready to Mount
Countersunk magnets take a flat-head screw that sits flush with the face (how to install them without cracking), ring magnets have a straight hole for pins, bolts and rods, and pot magnets put the magnet in a steel cup with a screw hole or threaded stud. If you need a hole size we don’t stock, we can make it as a custom magnet.