Types of grinding media balls

The ball mill works by using the impact and grinding action of the grinding media balls. The grinding media balls act on the material to complete the grinding process. During the crushing process, the grinding media balls convert external energy into work. This energy is used to crush the material into finer particles. The grinding media balls play a key role in material crushing and size reduction. Their properties, such as hardness and density, directly affect the grinding efficiency. Choosing the right grinding media balls is essential for achieving the desired particle size and improving productivity.

Metal grinding media balls

Since the 1980s, manufacturers have developed chromium alloy cast iron grinding balls. Next, they introduced multi-element low alloy cast iron grinding balls. Then, engineers developed various medium and high carbon low alloy waste heat quenched steel balls. Additionally, they created bainite air-cold forging and rolling steel grinding balls. Finally, researchers developed multiphase matrix ductile iron grinding balls.

Non-metal grinding media ball

Natural stone grinding balls

The natural ball stone grinding media mainly refers to materials like silica, sea pebbles, and pebbles. In recent years, high-grade natural ball stone resources have been depleting. At the same time, the ceramic industry has rapidly developed. As a result, natural ball stone grinding media has been largely replaced by artificial grinding media.

SiO₂ grinding balls

SiO2 grinding balls are made from natural agate balls and glass balls made of quartz. Natural agate grinding balls are expensive. Quartz glass balls have low density and high wear. They also have low grinding efficiency and are easily brittle.

Applications: They are used only in experiments and some special industries. The usage is very small. Besides grinding quartz powder and some special powders, industries do not use them for other ceramic powder grinding. Common equipment includes stir ball mills, sand mills, and planetary ball mills.

AI₂O₃ grinding balls

AI2O3 grinding media balls are ceramic balls with AI2O3 as the main component. They are also called AI2O3 ceramic balls. AI2O3 ceramics have excellent properties such as wear resistance and corrosion resistance. They also offer high temperature resistance and impact resistance. Due to these properties, industries widely use AI2O3 ceramic balls.

They use them in white cement raw materials, mineral processing, and ceramics. They also use them in electronic materials, magnetic materials, coatings, and paints. AI2O3 ceramic balls are a high-quality grinding medium for various industries.

ZrSiO₄ grinding ball

ZrSiO4 grinding media balls are made from ZrSiO4 as the main raw material. The mass fraction of ZrO2 is about 65% to 68% or lower. ZrSiO4 ceramic balls are mainly used for ultrafine grinding of ZrSiO4 raw materials. They can increase the content of ZrSiO4. However, they have high abrasion and low strength. Due to these limitations, ZrSiO4 ceramic balls lack a strong market prospect. They are being replaced by ZrO2 grinding media, which offers better performance.

ZrO₂ grinding ball

ZrO2 grinding media balls are ZrO2 ceramic balls with stabilizers added. The ZrO2 content reaches more than 90%. ZrO2 ceramic balls have several advantages and characteristics. They have a higher density, resulting in greater impact force. This leads to higher grinding efficiency. ZrO2 balls can avoid product contamination. AI2O3, SiO2, and metal grinding media can contaminate the product. ZrO2 is chemically inert to dispersants. The surface is smooth, hard, and has excellent roundness. It also has a reasonable size distribution. The wear of the medium and grinding lining is very small during grinding. ZrO2 has high fracture toughness, strength, wear resistance, and chipping resistance. It is suitable for wet grinding and high-viscosity mud dispersion. It also performs well under high-speed operating conditions. Using ZrO2 grinding media reduces required grinding time.
This leads to higher production efficiency and lower production costs.

Applications: Mainly used for ultrafine grinding and dispersion of high-viscosity and high-hardness materials requiring “zero contamination.” These include electronic ceramics, magnetic materials, zirconia, silica, zircon silicate, titanium dioxide, pharmaceuticals, food, pigments, dyes, inks, and special chemicals. Common equipment: It is suitable for various ball mills, grinding, and polishing equipment.

Silicon carbide grinding balls

Silicon carbide grinding media balls are a type of high-tech ceramic. They are mainly made from submicron silicon carbide powder. The covalent bond structure of SiC gives it high crystal symmetry and anisotropy. As a result, it reduces the number of atomic slip surfaces, making it less prone to deformation. Furthermore, SiC has hardness second only to diamond and cubic boron nitride. In addition, it possesses higher mechanical strength than corundum. Moreover, SiC maintains high strength, hardness, oxidation resistance, and corrosion resistance at high temperatures.

Silicon Nitride Grinding Balls

Silicon nitride grinding media balls are made from silicon nitride ceramic material. They are considered high-end materials for ball milling media. Silicon nitride is an inorganic non-metallic compound with strong covalent bonds. Its basic structural unit is a tetrahedron. The silicon atom is at the center of the tetrahedron, with four nitrogen atoms at the vertices. These tetrahedra form a continuous, strong network structure in three-dimensional space. As a result, silicon nitride grinding media balls have excellent oxidation resistance. They also have high hardness, second only to diamond and cubic boron nitride. The consumption is very low, reducing both wear and contamination. This helps achieve higher purity ultrafine powders. However, silicon nitride grinding media balls are relatively expensive.

Conclusion

The selection of grinding media is crucial in the ultrafine grinding process. Different grinding media have different chemical elements. In actual production, we must consider whether the chemical composition reacts with the material. This helps avoid contamination of the material. For grinding pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and biochemicals, heavy metals are a concern. We should not use grinding media that contains heavy metals. For grinding superhard materials like silicon nitride and silicon carbide, it’s best to use media with similar composition. The chemical composition of the grinding media influences its physical properties, such as hardness, density, and wear resistance. Choosing the right grinding media based on its chemical composition improves grinding efficiency and product quality. This also helps reduce overall costs in the ultrafine grinding process.

Epic powder

Epic Powder, 20+ years of work experience in the ultrafine powder industry. Actively promote the future development of ultra-fine powder, focusing on crushing,grinding,classifying and modification process of ultra-fine powder.  Contact us for a free consultation and customized solutions! Our expert team is dedicated to providing high-quality products and services to maximize the value of your powder processing. Epic Powder—Your Trusted Powder Processing Expert !