Overview: What is a Vertical Square Planetary Ball Mill?
The XQM series with a vertical square design is a high-energy planetary ball mill where the main rotating disc (sun wheel) is oriented vertically and housed within a square or cubic-shaped machine body. This contrasts with the more common horizontal cylindrical design.
This configuration is not just an aesthetic choice; it often provides greater structural stability, easier access to the grinding jars, and can be more efficient for certain grinding tasks, especially with multiple jars.
Key Features & Detailed Description
1.
Vertical Square Design & Stability
Stable Base: The square footprint provides a larger, more stable base, significantly reducing vibration during high-speed operation. This is crucial for grinding dense materials like metals and for achieving consistent nano-scale results.
Robust Construction: The square housing is typically made of strong, welded steel, making the machine durable and capable of handling the high stresses of planetary motion.
Efficient Use of Space: The vertical orientation and square shape make it a compact yet powerful unit, ideal for laboratories where bench space is at a premium.
2.
Powerful Planetary Motion for Nano-Grinding
The core principle remains the same: grinding jars simultaneously revolve around a central axis (the vertical sun wheel) and rotate around their own axes in the opposite direction.
This generates intense centrifugal forces, propelling the grinding balls into high-energy impacts that crush, grind, and mix the sample through friction and collision.
This action is exceptionally effective for reducing hard materials like metal powders and abrasive materials like soil to micron or nano-scale fineness.
3.
Versatile Grinding Jars for Diverse Materials
The machine's capability to grind everything from delicate soils to tough metal powders relies on using the correct jar and ball material to prevent contamination.
For Metal Powders: Stainless Steel, Tungsten Carbide, or Zirconia jars are preferred. Their high hardness, strength, and wear resistance can handle the ductility and toughness of metals and are essential for mechanical alloying.
For Soil & Geological Samples: Agate or Zirconia jars are ideal. Agate is exceptionally hard and chemically inert, preventing contamination of the sample for accurate elemental analysis. Stainless steel can also be used if cross-contamination is not a primary concern.
4.
Wide Capacity Range: XQM-0.4 to 100L
XQM-0.4L: A small benchtop model, perfect for initial R&D, testing with very small sample sizes (e.g., a few grams).
XQM-2L/4L/6L: Standard laboratory workhorses for routine sample preparation.
XQM-10L/12L/16L/20L/100L: Larger, often floor-standing models used for small-batch production or processing larger quantities of material. The "100L" designation refers to the total volume of grinding jars the machine can accommodate, indicating an industrial-grade laboratory mill.
5.
Advanced Programmable Control System
Digital Display & Control: Precise setting of rotational speed (rpm), grinding time (hours/minutes/seconds), and cycle patterns.
Run/Pause Cycles: Programmable intervals of milling and rest to prevent excessive heat buildup, which is critical for heat-sensitive materials and for maintaining the properties of certain metal powders.
Reversible Direction: Automatically changes the direction of rotation to ensure more uniform grinding and prevent material from caking on one side of the jar.
Technical Specifications (Generalized for the Series)
| Feature | Specification Range | Notes |
| Models | XQM-0.4, 0.4L, 1L, 2L, 4L, 6L, 8L, 10L, 12L, 16L, 20L, 100L | Capacity indicates total jar volume. |
| Jar Mounts | Typically 2 or 4 jars | Smaller models may have 2, larger models have 4. |
| Jar Materials | SS, Agate, Zirconia, Tungsten Carbide, Nylon, PTFE | Select based on application to avoid contamination. |
| Max. Feed Size | < 10 mm | Material should be pre-crushed. |
| Final Fineness | < 1 µm (can be sub-micron) | Suitable for nano-scale synthesis. |
| Speed Control | Programmable, e.g., 0 - 800 rpm | Critical for controlling grinding energy. |
| Control System | Digital, Programmable with LED/LCD Display | |
Primary Applications as a Metal Powder & Soil Grinder
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Metal Powder Processing:
- Mechanical Alloying: Creating novel, non-equilibrium alloys from blended elemental powders.
- Nano-Powder Production: Reducing metal powders to nano-scale to enhance their sintering properties, catalytic activity, or for use in conductive inks.
- Dispersion and Mixing: Creating homogenous mixtures of different metal powders or metal-ceramic composites (cermets).
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Soil and Geological Sample Preparation:
- Pulverizing Soil Samples: Grinding soil to a fine, homogeneous powder for accurate chemical and physical analysis.
- XRF/XRD Analysis: Preparing samples for X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) by ensuring a consistent and fine particle size, which is critical for reliable data.
- Environmental Testing: Homogenizing soil samples to test for contaminants and pollutants.
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Other General Applications:
- Grinding and mixing of ceramics, chemicals, pigments, and pharmaceuticals.
- Cell disruption in biological samples.
- Research in material science, nanotechnology, and chemistry.
