IQS Newsroom Articles on Ball Mills
Ball Mills
Ball mills are industrial cylinders used to grind and mix materials. They are partially filled with a grinding medium, like small stainless steel balls, while the rest of the cylinder is filled with the material to be grinded. When the cylindrical shell is rotated at high speed, a cascading effect takes place inside the cylinder, reducing the substance to a fine powder.
Whether large or small, all ball mills rotate around a horizontal axis. Small ball mills can easily sit on a workbench and be operated by hand, while industrial-sized ball mills must be turned by machine. Industrial ball mills can operate 24 hours a day; these machines load on one side and discharge on the other.
A wide variety of materials can be used as grinding media for a ball mill. Stainless steel balls the size of bowling balls may be used to crush coal in power plants. Lead antimony, brass, bronze, or other non-sparking grinding media may be used in pyrotechnics and to make black powder. A similar process makes paints and ceramics.