Alpine SO Super Orion Ball Mill

The Alpine SO Super Orion Bill Mill is a durable milling device known for its low energy consumption and high level of precision. When paired with a Hosokawa air classifier, the Alpine SO Ball Mill is capable of grinding many hard materials down to D80 = 2 µm.

The Alpine SO Ball Mill has been the mill of choice for years for manufacturing high-grade mineral powders. These legacy mills are still popular due to their low operating and maintenance costs. Alpine Super Orion ball mills ensure low-wear and cost effective processing for a broad range of materials.

Capacity: 100 kgs to 12,000 lbs/hour, down to D80 = 2 microns

Design & Options:

Capable of processing up to 12,000 lbs/hour
Ultra-fine milling of hard & abrasive materials to D90 < 2 µm
Available from 5 feet long @ 20 HP to 25 feet long @ 1,000 HP
Long service life with low maintenance & energy consumption
Various wear options: Steel, Stainless Steel, Ceramic or Aluminum Oxide liners
Ball Media include: Steel, Ceramic, Aluminum Oxide beads
Exceptional particle size distribution control when integrated with a Hosokawa Air Classifier
Variable drive speed for adjustable milling results
Optional load cell integration for optimum grinding output

Ball mills are giant drums that are filled to between 30 and 40% of their volume with freely moving grinding media – in this case balls. The diameter of the balls is between one and several centimetres to suit the application – smaller balls for fine milling results and larger ones for coarser milling tasks.

The drive sets the milling drum into slow rotation and the bed of milling media is thus activated, i.e. the balls are lifted and then impact back against the bed. Ball mills are usually operated at 75% of the critical speed. The critical speed is the speed where, mathematically calculated, the grinding media would centrifuge out. Mills of 2 m in diameter therefore rotate in operation at about 23 revolutions per minute, which corresponds to a peripheral speed of 2.4 m/s.

A mill of this size equipped with steel grinding media converts approx. 50 kW per m³ of feedstock. The feed product is fed continuously through the trunnion and is discharged through slots on the opposite side. The discharge rate can be adjusted as a function of the number of open slots. The ground product is transported – often pneumatically – and is charged to a downstream classifier. The coarse material is returned to the mill together with the feed product.