The Electromagnetic Forces on Parallel Current-Carrying Wires model uses both Maxwell’s stress tensor and the Lorentz force method to compute magnetic forces. It shows how to compute the total force on a device by integrating the volume force J × B—the most important method for calculating forces in current-carrying devices. For materials that can be described as pure conductors (see later on in this section) this method gives the exact distribution of forces inside a device. The quantity J × B is the Lorentz force and is available as a predefined variable on domains and boundaries. The model also illustrates how to compute the force by integrating the Maxwell stress tensor on boundaries.

The Permanent Magnet model demonstrates how to compute the total force on a magnetizable rod close to a permanent magnet by integrating the Maxwell stress tensor in the air on the outside of the rod. This is the most important method for accurately calculating the total force on magnetic devices for which the exact distribution of volume forces is not known. To retrieve the exact distribution of volume forces requires a material that describes the interactions of the magnetizations and strains. Such materials are not always available. Therefore you are often limited to compute the total force by integrating the stress tensor or using the method of virtual work.