Method of manufacturing chip inductor

A method of manufacturing a chip inductor comprising the steps of:

• continuously molding a winding core by continuously extruding a kneaded material which is a mixture of powdered magnetic material and a binder;
• continuously winding a conducting wire around said molded winding core in a coiled manner;
• continuously molding an external cover element by continuously extruding said kneaded material to enclose said molded winding core around which said conducting wire has been wound;
• thereafter, sintering said molded winding core with the conducting wire wound thereon and said molded external cover element enclosing said conducting wire and said core;
• cutting a semimanufactured product obtained by the preceding steps into a predetermined length to thereby obtain a plurality of chip inductor main bodies;
• and
• installing an external electrode on each end surface of said respective chip inductor main bodies such that said external electrode is connected to each end portion of said conducting wire, said end portions being exposed at opposite ends of said respective chip inductor main bodies.