Magnets do quiet work in pocket objects: they provide the return force, the snap into position, the resistance you feel mid-travel, and often the detent itself. Tuning is a matter of magnet strength, spacing, and polarity — millimetres change everything.

Common object types

Magnetic sliders, magnetic-detent coins, snap-shut objects.

What affects feel

Magnet grade and size, the gap between opposing magnets, polarity arrangement, and how the magnetic force is balanced against the object’s mass. Too strong and it snaps aggressively; too weak and it feels limp.

What affects sound

The snap of magnets closing the gap and the surfaces they pull together.

What can go wrong

Snap that is too violent or too soft, magnets that catch early, weakening over time or temperature, and dead zones in travel.

Collector terms

Magnet timing, snap, pull, gap, polarity.

Related

Slider, detent mechanism, haptic coin.