Magnets to replace drivers/springs

[huxleypig]

Can these be "Picked" with a strong magnet?

I think I am right in saying that all the tumblers in this lock need pulling towards the key? So a magnetic probe to decode what is in the lock (or some sort of electronic equivalent ) would tell you what you needed to simulate the key.

Short and simple answer is ... No. Do a search on YouTube for magnetic lock cutaway, and you can see how they work. It would take too long to explain.

Gordon

So it is not the repelling/attracting that is important, it is the position of the magnets. It looks like it works similar to that magnetic mortice lock (I forget its name, it has just a round flat plate) in that there are legs on the end of the magnets that pivot into holes.

I had the chance to have a quick play with the Genii one this week. I was reliably informed that they can be raked open pretty easily but I did not witness it first hand. You're right about decoding though, the pins might not even be magnetic.

[Doogs]

I read an article where the guy used a strip of magnetic sensitive film to get the alignments and then used the magnets in the corresponding locations to pop it. Crap i have no idea where i saw that but I'll see if I can dig it up.

ETA: Now that I think about I think he used the film to homebrew a clone of the key rather than the lock.

[Dougq1300]

I realize this is an older post, but I've been digging through the site for a while now. Not to burst your bubble about patenting this idea, but locks must follow UL437 restrictions (Underwriters Laboratory). The biggest thing against this is that locks must employ non-magnetic parts to operate in order to receive a patent.

[Josephus]

I realize this is an older post, but I've been digging through the site for a while now. Not to burst your bubble about patenting this idea, but locks must follow UL437 restrictions (Underwriters Laboratory). The biggest thing against this is that locks must employ non-magnetic parts to operate in order to receive a patent.

Every once in a while someone comes through saying this nonsense. Underwriters Laboratory is a private company. People may or may not do business with them at their leisure. UL437 is not a restriction. It is not lawful in any way. UL437 is a specification process for testing and certifying high-security locks to the said specifications, nothing more. The number of locks that fall in that category is very small and self-selecting.

Don't believe me? Look it up. Or better yet just check out how few locks have a UL mark or label. If the mark isn't there then the lock isn't certified.

[ckc123]

UL437 is a specification process for testing and certifying high-security locks to the said specifications, nothing more.

100% correct.. it's a spec which a lock meets.. while companies may require that the locks they purchase meet the spec, there is nothing forcing the manufacturer to make a lock to that spec..

you can make a lock which is more secure than the UL437 but does not meet the spec.. which is now better.. the lock or the spec that lowers the security of the lock?