A maxel is a magnetic pixel: one of the small magnetized regions printed across the face of a coded magnet. Just as an image is built from pixels, a coded magnet's pattern is built from maxels, each magnetized north or south.
The term comes from the programmable-magnet work of Correlated Magnetics Research (CMR). Its Polyvision design software page says the tool lets users create custom Polymagnets by controlling magnetic patterns at the maxel level, with a real-time visual display of the pattern as it is designed.
Why the unit matters: the size, spacing and arrangement of maxels set how far the field reaches and what the pair does. Small, tightly packed opposite regions keep flux loops short, which concentrates holding force near the surface. Arranging regions in rings, stripes or asymmetric codes produces alignment, rotational detents, latching or spring behavior.
Maxels are written with a magnetizer that applies a focused magnetic pulse at each location. A Popular Mechanics article reposted on CMR's blog describes the earlier MagPrinter doing exactly this, encoding multiple poles across a magnet's surface with a focused electromagnetic field. To see the result on a finished part, lay magnetic viewing film over it.
WholeMagnetics, 2026-10-04. Polymagnet facts are taken from Correlated Magnetics Research’s public pages, listed below; vendor performance figures are CMR’s own.