As an innovator in dispersion technology Custom Milling & Consulting LLC, has taken their knowledge and manufactured a wet grinding bead mill. Bead mills are also referred to as media mills, horizontal media mills or even a batch mill.
Each of these mills uses bead/media to grind, impact, or shear down particles in a liquid or slurry. Materials flow through the chamber or the basket, depending on your mill, and pass over the media. As the particles come in contact the energy and force that is created by the mill combined with the media shears down particles. Particles are dispersed evenly throughout the liquid because of the attrition and rotation of the shafts and discs. Pressure applied to the particles from trying to move through the small gaps forces them to break down.
When you are setting up your media mill you need to be aware of the size media you are using and how much media you use in your mill. These two things will affect how the mill performs and your formulation. For example, if you have too much media it will act more like a filter letting materials through but holding back large particles. On the other hand if you have too little media the product will just flow through and you will have minimal to no particle size reduction occurring during the process. The best way to determine what amount of media you will need is to run some test batches.
Manufacturers need to also consider the actual size of the media they are using in their mill. Larger media provides less shear angle than smaller media. With smaller media you have more space for particles to pass through and a larger shear angle. If your materials have large agglomerate, smaller media will have no effect on the particles and you will have minimal to no shearing action. Consider your materials that you are working with to determine if you need larger media such as 4mm or if you can use a .1mm bead.
Other key factors that affect the mill’s performance;
- Temperature
- Milling shaft speed
- Type of material on construct you use
- Wear and tear of the mill
- Routine maintenance
A diverse range of industries all over the world incorporate wet grinding bead mills into their production. They provide a wide range of benefits compared to some of the alternatives, like dry milling.
- Better finer particle sizes
- Minimal contamination of product
- Clean up is quick and easy
- Less process times
- Media range in sizes .25 mm to 2mm
- Even and enhanced dispersions
- Safer to handle materials
Custom Milling & Consulting LLC, provides custom processing and consulting services in addition to their manufacturing. Contact us and speak to a representative about how we can help you expand your business.
