rallekralle11 Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 Hi, everyone i think i'm going to build a ball mill soon, and i need help finding a good design.i want it to be simple, be able to mill for about 3 days non-stop, and be cheap.... any ideas?
pyrogeorge Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 You can find topics related for ball mills.Why you want to mill 3 days non stop??
rallekralle11 Posted October 22, 2013 Author Posted October 22, 2013 i'll maybe use it to make aluminum powder
AdmiralDonSnider Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 Have a look at Sponenburghs book. I wouldn´t bother with the aluminum, it´s cheaper to buy it. In the case of BP several hours is all that is required, and it´s basically meaningless if you stop the mill for cooldowns in between. Nonstop milling can only be achieved with geared or industrial motors designed for continous operation, certainly not with the kind of dryer or washing machine motors many sources suggest as a cheap power supply. The can last forever though when used wisely.
fireinthehole Posted October 23, 2013 Posted October 23, 2013 whilst most people on here use a belt driven jar, i built a giant drill chuck from scrap pig iron. My jar fits into this and is mounted into a standard drill i got from bunnings at $30
nater Posted October 23, 2013 Posted October 23, 2013 Most drills spark a lot while operating, not a desireable trait in a ball mill.
fireinthehole Posted October 23, 2013 Posted October 23, 2013 i always had a bigger problem with sparks when using an old vacuum cleaner-i still haven't found the other half of that mill and it has been several years- what do you recommend for negating this issue? 1
Wolverine Posted October 23, 2013 Posted October 23, 2013 (edited) I'd take the advice of the folks here and just buy your aluminum. Much more cost and safety effective.With that said keep an eye out at the local dump or scrap yard for an up-blast ventilation fan. You may just get lucky and find a real good FREE (or damn close to it) 1/8th or 1/4hp motor that works and will run forever. (+2 pillow blocks)Mine can run a solid 8hrs BP milling with 2 jars on the rig and barely get warm.http://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/gallery/image/2397-ball-mill-mark-ii/http://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/gallery/image/2398-ball-mill-frame-simple-and-rugged/97% salvaged materials (dump/scrap yard)total cost (for me) $23 for the drill stock shafts. Edited October 23, 2013 by Wolverine
MrB Posted October 23, 2013 Posted October 23, 2013 Milling aluminum has the side effect of making for a fairly exiting time when you want to open it. Like magnesium & magnalium for example, it wants to combust when oxygen is introduced. I'm not sure how / why, or even how big a risk it is, but i'm sort of guessing it's due to all the exposed surface area that the aluminum whats to have oxidized. Nothing say's it will go up in flames when you open it, and you supposedly can use additives to counter it (simply coating it, and stopping / slowing down the reaction) or, control the speed at which oxygen is introduced. I'd agree with those who say it's not worth the time and effort, but then again, some things we do just to see if we can.B! 1
PGSeanB Posted October 24, 2013 Posted October 24, 2013 (edited) Here is my design for a ball mill I use an old tread mill...cut it apart and put it back together... Then Get a Thumlers Tumbler and use the Drum.... Add Ball of your liking, I personally use 1" solid round stock cut to 1" and Also have 3/4" solid round cut to 3/4" Stainless Steel of Course https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsmVfoYoG60&noredirect=1 I do a lot of shooting so I clean A LOT of Brass. For cleaning, I use Stainless Steel pins. Email me if you have any questions. Edited October 24, 2013 by PGSeanB
Bobosan Posted October 24, 2013 Posted October 24, 2013 The treadmill re-design looked good. Will it slow down further from what you show?
PGSeanB Posted October 24, 2013 Posted October 24, 2013 (edited) Yes, My design of the treadmill will slow down Super slow. Slower than the original Thumblers Tumbler in the start of the video. Reason I use Thumlers Drum... First, Its hexagon, so it moves the media and material well... Second its thick rubber lined so it doesn't wear out and its replaceable if it does and Its VERY VRY quiet for a ball mill.If anyone wants one, I can build and ship to you if you cant make it yourself... Edited October 24, 2013 by PGSeanB
Bobosan Posted October 24, 2013 Posted October 24, 2013 Agree about the Thumblers drums. I have two drums now and they work quite well.
JackRabbitTrail Posted November 1, 2013 Posted November 1, 2013 I am soliciting comments on ball milling media. I have read that coins can be used for this. I am concerned about safety issues and believe that coins would be less efficient than balls. Your observations?
Shadowcat1969 Posted November 1, 2013 Posted November 1, 2013 Coins aren't, overall, heavy enough. And the "shearing action" is really bunk. You want crushing action between balls or cylindrical media. Hardened lead or certain ceramics, like Y or M Zirconia. I started of with plain muzzleloading .50 caliber lead balls from the sporting goods store, they were relatively cheap (about $30 for 200)and lasted long enough to allow me to research and finalize what I wanted to do permanently.
MrB Posted November 1, 2013 Posted November 1, 2013 Your in Texas for gods sake. Buy .50 balls, preferable from a hard alloy lead, and heat-treat them. You shouldn't need anything else, ever. Well, ceramics if your worried about the wear on the lead balls when your doing "other stuff", but i'd stick with them balls.B!
Varmint Posted November 1, 2013 Posted November 1, 2013 I wish tungsten carbide was more afforable, talk about mass! DAS
MrB Posted November 1, 2013 Posted November 1, 2013 If we are dreaming, how about depleted uranium as milling media? Heavy, fairly hard, and should be available in pellet form to boot.It has some drawbacks, sure. A tad radioactive, will shatter if impacted hard enough... Oh, oh, and will burn, creating radioactive smoke / sot. It's a good thing it's not being used in ways that makes it end up in nature, where stuff like radioactive sot could end up inside living organisms, like through breathing... Ok, so it IS used as ammo, but that stuff isn't set on fire, and then they clean it up after the "war"... No? It ctaches fire on impact? God, that seams awful. And nobody cares about cleaning up after.... Go figure. The world is a bad place. Might actually be a good idea to use it as milling media then.B! 1
ice_maniac Posted November 6, 2013 Posted November 6, 2013 Hi, me and my friend built this ballmill based on other ballmills design we've seen on the web.We made the media by using brass pipes filled with lead.You might want to replace the homemade (cut with jigsaw) wood wheel, with other more percision wheels, consider using bicycle chain wheel.maybe it looks like scrap, but it runs at 70rpm almost at the optimal speed of 74rpm(proportional to the size of the container).the motor we used was taken from an old washing machine. the results:ballmill in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOnwbArZ1QE20cm of bp: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhVYH_5TDNk20cm of bp after 1.5 hour of milling: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPSSDKhOJMAyou can see at the end of this video, piece of granulated bp (without breaking it after it was dehydrated): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEPrVkEn8s0
Wolverine Posted November 7, 2013 Posted November 7, 2013 (edited) Hey Ice, I would suggest securing those pillow blocks. The combination of them being loose like that, how close that very open motor is to the jar and all that vibration could cause a nasty accident if the jar springs a leak and/or a cap loosens up and falls out.Even with the design tightened up it is ALWAYS a good idea to mill outside WELL AWAY FROM structures, roads etc. (preferably bunkered) at the end of a long drop cord and turned on from the other end well away from the mill when milling BP. Ball mills can and do explode sometimes.Also lighting your powder with a regular lighter like that can lead to injury.I suggest reading up on your safety. Edited November 7, 2013 by Wolverine
PGSeanB Posted November 7, 2013 Posted November 7, 2013 1 in Stainless Steel Solid Round Bar cut to 1.5 in... ITs the best I have found,,, My mill makes 2 pounds of AL powder in 3 days....
ice_maniac Posted November 11, 2013 Posted November 11, 2013 Wolverine, my ballmill secure with vacuum, although there is always that little chance it could be opened, I will make sure to tighten it up and stop being lazy about it, about the bunker, I am thinking of building one. Don't ever use steel media... believe me, it can be very dangerous. use only non spark material such as ceramic, brass filled with lead, or lead.
Mumbles Posted November 11, 2013 Posted November 11, 2013 Many grades of stainless are, for all intents and purposes, non-sparking. There are more documented accidents with ceramic than stainless steel.
ice_maniac Posted November 11, 2013 Posted November 11, 2013 so you say that stainless media consider to be safe? is it non-sparking material?
MrB Posted November 11, 2013 Posted November 11, 2013 Some, or even many, isn't the same as all. It's your life. Your holding it in your own hands. Don't drop it. We all have choices to make.B! 1
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