When an industrial powder is needed, it is normally made by running the material that is to be powered through a grinding machine. There it is mixed with different types of grinding media until it is powered.

Once the powdering is complete, the media is sifted out of the powder and cleaned in preparation for future use. 

 

 

Grinding media comes in many different types, depending on not just the kind of material that is going to be powdered, but also how many times it will be reused, the desired purity of the final powder and the flammability of the material. Some powders cannot be mixed with some grinding media that is sensitive to radioactivity. How do you know what kind of media is best for your products?

 

Some grinding media is not suitable to long term use in machinery because of the high amount of wear that it puts on the machine. Sand can be very abrasive and destructive to mill machinery. Most older grinder mill are converted sand mills, so most media used in them is going to be about the sand size as the sand. Flint pebbles were first used in English pottery mills to powder the minerals used for glazes. 

 

Flint pebbles have for the most part been substituted by steatite for grinding because of the difficulty sourcing the naturally occurring flint pebbles without negative environmental impact. Glass beads have mostly replaced the use of sand in mills as a grinding media. There are several different hardness of grinding media available, some softer like ceramics but some as hard as diamonds.

 

Sometimes using a harder media is not as great a thing as it may seem. If a hardened steel or aluminum shot is used, it can cause more wear on the machines than a standard shot and accelerate the need for machinery repairs and replacement. This leads to equipment downtime and loss of production. Reliability is always important to cost reduction and profits. Most grinding media has limitations but they also have individual strengths.

 

The most important part is being able to balance the strengths and weaknesses for the best use of your products. Consulting an expert in the field is the best way to quickly evaluate your plant's needs. A salesman isn't always an expert, so be certain you consult wisely and directly with someone having years of experience in your particular manufacturing field.