As previously reported, I'm developing a DC magnetron sputtering rig for my personal photographic pursuits.

As the name implies, the rig is equipped with a magnetron, a device consisting of a coaxially combined cylindrical and annular magnet.

Up until now, I've been determining its specifications based on my gut feeling (lol). The slimmer one in the first GIF animation is the result of that approach.

However, from the very beginning of this project, I've had my doubts about relying solely on intuition and always felt I should be performing proper magnetic field simulations.

This time, I simply couldn't resist the urge to venture into the realm of unbalanced magnetrons, and finally, I made up my mind to study FEM.

Of course, I'm aware that SolidWorks Connected has built-in FEM capabilities, but unfortunately, the magnetic field simulation module is implemented via a third-party plugin, which is prohibitively expensive.

Therefore, I opted for FEMM, a free 2D magnetic field simulator, and performed calculations by importing DXF files created with SolidWorks Connected.

The resulting new magnetron design is the "fatter" one shown in the first GIF animation.

The results of the magnetic field simulation using FEMM can be seen in the second GIF animation.