Types of Grinding Mills

Dry Grinding Mill

A grinding mill is an industrial tool that reduces solid materials into a desired particle size and is vital in reducing solids, such as cement, into a more manageable and powdered form. It is also used to mix solids with liquids or change the gradient of animal feed and mills come in a variety of forms suited for different tasks and challenges.

Ball Mill

A ball mill uses centrifugal force and many metal balls to grind substances into a fine powder. It is a vital tool for regrinding work and is used mainly on materials such as cement, glass and chemical fertilizer. Its primary design is a large horizontal metal cylinder with two warehouses, or compartments, containing metal balls and scale-boarded, or grooved, edges. The cylinder is then rotated to create centrifugal force to lift the balls and drop them on the material, grinding them. The first warehouse is made to start the grinding process and when the material is made fine enough, it enters through specified holes into the second warehouse, which--with different specification balls and scale boards--grinds the material into a finer powder.

Rod Grinding Mill

Rod Mill

Like a ball mill, a rod mill is a large horizontal cylinder that uses centrifugal force to grind material. However, instead of balls, it uses long metal rods that are placed almost parallel to each other and the cylinder. The walls of the grinder are also scale-boarded, so when the rods tumble, they crush the material against them. A rod mill creates a relatively unified gradient, and is great for reducing very coarse material into a size manageable by ball mills.


Attrition (or Disc) Mill

This mill does not use a cylinder principle; instead, it uses a pair of discs held close and parallel to each other to create a grinding chamber out of the resulting gap. One disc is held stationary while the other spins at great speed to grind the material until it is fine enough to exit from the gap at the edges of the disc. Some attrition mills have both discs spin at counter rotations to quicken this process. A hole is made in the center of the disc to provide a feed for the material and the gap is made smaller towards the disc's edge, making the material finer and finer before it exits the chamber.

How to Operate Ball Mills?

Energy Saving Ball Mill

If you wanted to break a stone down into sand, you might reach for a sledge hammer. But if you want to turn sand into fine dust, a ball mill would be the best tool for the job. A ball mill is specifically designed to break down a granular substance into a much finer substance by tumbling and grinding them with ceramic or metallic balls. Ball mills are used by painters, ceramicists and pyrotechnics experts to mix and refine pigments, clay compounds and explosives for fireworks.

Instructions
Prepare the Milling Chamber

1.Load your milling media into your milling chamber. Depending on your mill's capacity, and the material you wish to mill, you can add less or more media, but generally do not load the chamber more than two-thirds of the way full.

2.Add the granular material you wish to mill. Use extreme caution if milling explosive materials.

3.Screw the lid on to the top of your milling chamber or slip the cover on and affix the rubber retaining ring to secure the lid in place.

Milling Your Material

4.Turn the loaded chamber on its side and place it top of the two metal rails so that the chamber is running parallel to the rails and making contact with the rubber or plastic bushings.

5.Place the entire ball mill inside of a milling cabinet and place the cabinet outdoors, far away from buildings, cars, people, animals, direct sunlight and any explosive objects such as gas canisters, if you are milling explosive materials. Pack sand bags around the milling cabinet to form a barricade around and on top of the milling cabinet. This will protect from flying debris in the event of an explosion.

6.Plug the ball mill into an electrical outlet and turn on the milling machine's motor to begin rotating the chamber.

7.Allow the mill to run uninterrupted for several hours. The longer the mill is allowed to run, the finer the granular material will become. Occasionally, feel the motor to make sure that it is not overheating. If the motor feels hot to the touch, turn off the machine and allow it to cool down before resuming.

Removing Milled Material

8.Turn off the ball mill and unplug it from its power source. If you are milling explosive material, remove the sandbags and open the milling cabinet. Remove the milling chamber and place it on a flat surface.

9.Allow the dust to settle inside of the milling chamber before opening the container. Slowly unscrew the milling chamber's cover or remove the rubber retention ring and slide the cover off.

10.Place your fine mesh screen over your plastic or glass container. Carefully pour the contents of the ball mill out onto the screen to sift the milling media from the milled substance.

Tips & Warnings

Milling explosive materials is incredibly dangerous and could result in explosion, property damage, injury and death if not properly executed. Use extreme caution and read all instructions specific to your ball mill before operating.

Only use lead media when milling explosive material to prevent sparks and accidental ignition.

Fine granular material can be dangerous if inhaled or ingested. When emptying or cleaning your milling chamber, always wear a dust mask or respirator.

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What Are The Types of Ball Mills?

Ceramic Ball Mill

Ball mills are used for grinding things down or for mixing things up. They grind ores down to powders before they are chemically processed, they grind grains down to flours for baking and they mix up paints so they are smooth enough to apply. All ball mills consist of rotating cylinders that contain hard (usually metallic) balls that do the grinding. There are three types of ball mills: horizontal, vertical and industrial.

Horizontal Ball Mills

Horizontal ball mills are the most common type. The basic design is the same but the details can vary slightly. A drum, which is usually detachable, has a door that can be used to load in the material to be processed. Sometimes -- like for paint mixers -- there will be a screen that keeps the metal balls in place. When the substance to be processed (and the balls) are in the drum, the door is closed and the drum is reinstalled -- horizontally -- on the mill where it is rotated until the job is done. Some ball mills have a timer and some have a window where the processed material can be viewed.

Vertical Ball Mills

Small vertical ball mills are about the size of a blender and are intended for laboratory or shop use. They are small enough to fit on a lab table or workbench and only big enough to process the small quantities need for desktop applications -- they are not intended for commercial or industrial use. These ball mills are often called planetary ball mills. The rotating drums are not usually detachable -- the material is poured into the top and the cap is replaced, like a kitchen blender. Like all ball mills, the speed and ball size have an effect on how the vertical ball mill works. Vertical ball mills often come with a variety of ball sizes (and have variable speed settings) for more efficient processing.

Industrial Ball Mills

Industrial ball mills are much larger than the other types of ball mills. They vary in size from approximately the size of a refrigerator to approximately the size of a bus. They are always horizontal. What distinguishes the industrial ball mill (besides its large size) is that they have multiple chambers and have a forced-air system constantly moving material through the rotating drum. The different chambers are separated by screens of progressively smaller mesh. The chambers contain balls of progressively smaller size. The size of the balls and the screen mesh keeps the balls in their own chamber. Material is forced from one chamber to the next as it is ground small enough to fit through the mesh screens.

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