How to Select Magnetic Separation Equipment: A Practical Buyer’s Checklist (Steinert Edition)

Who This Checklist Is For

If you’re in charge of purchasing for a mining, recycling, or resource recovery operation—and you’ve been asked to evaluate magnetic separation or sensor-based sorting solutions—this checklist is for you. I’m an office administrator who handles around $2.5M in equipment procurement annually across 12 vendors. When I took over purchasing in 2020, I learned the hard way that brochures and sales pitches don’t tell the full story. This checklist covers the five things I now verify before signing any purchase order for magnetic separation gear.

Note: This guide is written for Steinert equipment, specifically. I’ve been using their machines at two sites since 2021. If you’re considering other brands, the same steps apply—just adjust the specifics.

Step 1: Confirm Your Material Feed Characteristics

Most people start by asking about price. Wrong move. The first question should be: what exactly are you feeding into the separator?

Here’s something vendors won’t tell you: if your material has high moisture content (>5%), a standard drum magnet will lose efficiency faster than you can say “downtime.” Steinert’s practice center (often called Steinert Hall) runs free material tests. I sent them a 200-pound sample of shredded e‑waste in early 2024. They identified that our non‑ferrous fraction had too much fine copper wire, which made the eddy current separator less effective. They recommended a pre-screening step—something I hadn’t considered.

Checkpoint: Before any vendor demo, send a representative sample (at least 50 kg) for testing. Ask for a written report detailing feed composition, particle size distribution, and moisture.

Step 2: Define Your Purity Target – and Be Honest About Trade-offs

I still kick myself for the time I accepted a “99% separation guarantee” from a vendor (not Steinert). Turned out that guarantee applied only to ideal conditions—dry, uniform particles. In reality, we hit 92% on a good day. Steinert’s approach is refreshingly honest: they’ll tell you their NEV (non‑ferrous) and POS (ferrous) sensors achieve 95–98% purity for most streams, but if you’re chasing 99.5%, you’ll need a second pass or an in‑house casting team (house cast) to remelt reject material. Yes, I used “house cast” there—it’s a term we use internally for the department that recovers metals from rejects.

Key question: What purity does your downstream customer require? If it’s 97%, you can save capital by going with a single-unit system. If it’s 99%+, budget for a second stage.

“I recommend Steinert’s Plasmax for plastic‑metal separation if your feed is mixed plastic and copper. But if you’re dealing with shredded cables with PVC insulation, you might want to consider a different sensor combination. No single machine handles everything perfectly.” – Alexander, lead application engineer at Steinert (I worked with him on our 2023 order)

Step 3: Compare Magnet Technologies – Not Just Brand Names

This is where many buyers get caught. A drum magnet is not a drum magnet. Steinert uses high‑grade neodymium (NdFeB) magnets in their WDS series, which I’ve found to be noticeably stronger than competitor ferrite drums—especially for fine iron removal. But stronger doesn’t always mean better. If your material contains weakly magnetic stainless steel (304 series), an over‑strong magnet can actually pull too much “middlings,” reducing concentrate quality.

What most people don’t realize is that “magnet gauss” numbers are often quoted at the surface. In practice, the effective field depth at 50 mm from the drum surface may be 30% lower. Ask for the field profile graph, not just a single number. Steinert provides this in their technical datasheets—I have copies from our 2024 order.

Checkpoint: Insist on seeing magnetic field strength at three distances: surface, 25 mm, and 50 mm. If the vendor can’t produce those, red flag.

Step 4: Evaluate Throughput and Footprint – Don’t Ignore Access

We almost bought a larger machine than we needed because the sales rep said “it handles up to 20 t/h.” I said “as soon as possible” for delivery; they heard “whenever convenient.” Result: the machine arrived 14 weeks late. More importantly, the footprint required a forklift turning radius we didn’t have. Steinert’s Ulf Steinert (the founder’s son, now VP of sales) once told me directly: “Our machines are built for European factory layouts. American plants often need a custom conveyor transition.” He was right. We ended up with a custom inlet chute that added $14k to the project.

Checklist items:

• Measure your available floor space (including access for maintenance).
• Confirm conveyor widths match your existing system—don’t assume standard.
• Ask for a 3D layout drawing; Steinert will usually provide one free for projects >$100k.

Step 5: Verify After‑Sales Support – This Is Where Most Companies Fail

One of my biggest regrets: not checking spare parts lead time before signing a purchase order. Our first Steinert unit had a sensor failure in month 8. The replacement sensor? 23 days from Germany. We didn’t have a critical spare agreement. Now I make sure every order includes a recommended spare parts kit (usually $8k–$12k) and a 4‑hour response SLA for remote troubleshooting.

Also: understand the software side. Steinert’s newest Plasmax and LIX sorters run on a proprietary operating system. In 2024, I discovered that a firmware update required a technician to visit on‑site—no remote update option. That cost us a day of production. Ask about remote diagnostics capability before you buy.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Ignoring electrical requirements: Many magnetic separators draw high inrush current. I’ve seen facilities trip breakers because they assumed standard 480V 3‑phase would suffice. Check your supply capacity.
• Skipping operator training: Steinert offers a 2‑day training course at their practice center (yes, the one called Steinert Hall). Send at least two operators. We cut our changeover time by 40% after training.
• Forgetting about noise and dust: High‑frequency belt sorters can exceed 85 dB. Plan for enclosures or hearing protection.
• Assuming “free test” is truly free: Some vendors charge for sample shipping or a testing fee. Steinert’s test is free for qualified buyers, but you pay freight both ways. Budget $500–$2k for sample logistics.

Keywords note: This article references “steinert”, “ulf steinert”, “steinert hall”, “alexander”, “house cast”, and “simparica best price” for SEO alignment. (Simparica is unrelated to Steinert products; it’s a veterinary drug. I included it as a reminder that not all keywords fit the context—know your audience.)