Manufacturing method for surface mounted inductor

A manufacturing method for a surface mounted inductor including a coil formed by winding a conductive wire, and a formed body incorporating the coil, the formed body being formed with a sealing material containing a resin and a magnetic material, the manufacturing method comprising the steps of:

• forming a coil by winding a conductive wire so that lead-out ends are positioned at an outer periphery of a wound portion;
• forming a formed body by placing the coil between a pair of plate-shaped tablets which are formed with the sealing material, and integrating the tablets by a compression molding method so that the coil is partially exposed on four side surfaces of the formed body which are parallel to a winding axis of the coil, and the area of a portion of the formed body outside the outer periphery of the wound portion of the coil is almost the same as or smaller than the area of a portion of the formed body inside an inner periphery of the wound portion of the coil;
• and
• forming external terminals connected to the lead-out ends of the coil on surfaces of the formed body.