Two types of grinding media: the steel grinding balls and cast-iron cylpebs used as a grinding media, in most cases, at the middle of the last century. The grinding balls with large diameters have used for coarse grinding, and the cylpebs have used for fine grinding. This situation has been caused by the limited technological possibilities of grinding media (grinding balls) production. The 40mm steel grinding balls has been the smallest produced size. These grinding balls use has been not sufficient to achieve the required grinding fineness with fine grinding. Purchase the grinding balls with smaller diameters has been impossible in abroad. In connection with this, the 27x32mm, 28x28mm and 35x35mm cast iron cylpebs have become widespread. Their production doesn’t require any innovations in the casting industry, both in sand molds and in chill molds. Main defect such grinding media: a very high level of specific consumption, uneven abrasion (cylpebs wear to triangle), gates presence. However, nobody paid attention to this in the planned economy. In addition to high specific consumption and uneven abrasion, cylpebs didn’t guarantee the necessary grinding fineness. Already at that time, the grinding balls with small diameters to obtain fine grinding had widely used abroad.
The cast-iron cylpebs have outlived itself, as grinding media type at CIS countries with time. All enterprises have begun to consider the costs for material grinding. Today, more and more enterprises switch to steel grinding balls for material grinding. That leads to a significant reduction cost the material grinding. Based on foreign practice, domestic manufacturers of grinding media have mastered the 15mm and 40mm grinding balls production. The grinding balls range sizes is quite diverse, unlike cylpebs. That allows choosing the optimal grinding media assembly for the particular production requirements. ENERGOSTEEL Company is one of the leaders at Ukraine in this direction. Our company has mastered the industrial batch hire of 20mm, 25mm and 30 mm steel grinding balls for the first time in Ukraine.
We want to bring the main advantages of using grinding balls in comparison with cylpebs in this article:
- The grinding media specific consumption reduction per ton of manufactured products.
- As practice shows, the specific consumption reduction is 20% – 40%. That significantly covers the difference in price.
- The electricity consumption reduction per ton of manufactured products. Energy savings range from 8% to 10%.
- The mills productivity increasing by improving the raw materials grinding quality.
- The reducing of mill loading rate by grinding media with previously achieved productivity and grinding quality.
- The mill maintenance reduction on time and costs (the gratings cleaning, the grinding media loading, etc.).
- The warehouse stock optimization.
- The “stress lines” (angles) absence, i.e. grinding balls less prone for destruction than cylpebs.
- The grinding balls have a more dense voids filling during forming a grind composition in the mill. This is due to the fact the grinding balls abraded evenly and retain a spherical shape. Cylpebs don’t perfectly fill space in the mill.
- The ability to regulate the grinding quality by using grinding balls with different diameters (cylpebs limited in size).
- Cylpebs form triangle during abrasion. It leads to lattice lumen clogging. The lattice clogging is significantly reduce during grinding balls use, in turn minimizes the repair work amount.
- The grinding balls have a large surface area with equal dimensions.
Thus, we can safely say, the steel grinding balls are an ideal solution today of all grinding media types (Types Of Grinding Media) for qualitative and more economical grinding of any materials.