One machine that is heavily used for crushing and grinding tasks is the ball mill. This machine is described as a grinding device, capable to crush and transform large hard materials into fine powder. A ball mill is a cylindrical machine, generally used for mashing and crushing paints, ceramic materials, ores, and other hard materials. By rotating on horizontal axis, the ball mill effectively turns hard materials into fine powder. There are different ball mills on the market, but all of them use the same working principle and are consisted of the same elements. For example, grinding materials can be found in every ball mill.
Beside the material that needs to be transformed into fine powder, every ball mill contains grinding materials. The grinding materials are actually small balls which crush and grind the material that is inside the ball mill. Usually, stainless steel or ceramic balls are used as grinding materials. When the ball mill rotates, the balls crush and grind the material inside, creating in this way loose powder. The end result is crushed material that can be used for other purposes.
The industrial ball mill can operate continuously. This industrial machine is controlled by another device that feeds the ball mill with materials that need to be crushed into fine powder. Smaller ball mills operate efficiently with cylindrical containers that contain tight caps. Such ball mills are part of pulley systems that use pulley mechanisms and belts in order to control ball mills. The rock tumbler, a device that is used for polishing various rocks, is similar to this ball mill. These ball mills are used often in pyrotechnics for creating black powder and other pyrotechnic products.
When it comes to the grinding material, the stainless steel balls are the first choice. These grinding balls have the ability to grind almost any material, but they cannot be used for crushing flammable and sensitive materials. Certain materials can be damaged by the steel balls, and that’s why ceramic balls are used for crushing sensitive raw materials.
The planetary ball mill was recently introduced on the market. This ball mill was invented with a purpose to decrease the size of certain materials. It is a large ball mill that is generally used for laboratory applications. Before the introduction of the ball mills, the manufacturers were unable to create fine powder from raw and sensitive materials. Today, this process can be easily performed thanks to these grinding machines. Although useful and simple, the ball mills should only be operated by professionals who have the skills and the knowledge.