The Steel Balls Configuration of Ball Mill

Ball mill is the most widely used grinding equipment, and the filling of the grinding body (steel ball) is very important. During the working process of the ball mill, the friction between the steel ball and the material produce grinding and stripping effect. Only when the grinding body (steel ball) has a reasonable gradation and there is a certain proportion of various grinding bodies，which can be compatible with the particle size composition of the material to be ground ,to achieve good grinding effect. Reasonable selection of the gradation of ball mill steel balls is an indispensable measure to improve the output and quality of the ball mill.

The basic principles of steel balls grading configuration:

（1）Usually if the diameter of ball mill is large, the impact force is large, so the diameter of the steel ball is relatively small;

（2）Processing of ore with large hardness and coarse grain size requires a large impact force, so larger steel balls need to be loaded. That is, the harder the material, the larger the diameter of the steel ball;

（3）Generally follow the principle of "less at two ends and more in the middle", that is, four-level ball configuration, with fewer large and small balls, and more middle balls.

When choosing steel balls, many factors must be considered. Such as the type of ball mill and the diameter and length of the cylinder; the hardness, toughness and particle size requirements of the material to be ground; which cannot blindly pursue large or small balls; the material of stell balls should be selected according to actual needs.

After the ball mill is installed, the equipment needs to be run-in and the processing capacity has to be gradually increased, so the addition of steel balls is not done all at once. In half of the cases, during the test running under load, the addition of steel balls needs to be completed in three to four times, and adjusted according to the measured fineness of the material.

After the ball mill runs normally, the steel balls will wear out continuously during the operation. In order to maintain the filling rate and reasonable ratio of the steel balls and maintain the stable operation of the ball mill, reasonable balls compensation must be carried out to compensate for wear. Reasonable friction between steel ball and steel ball, steel ball and ore, steel ball and ball mill liner will make the large ball grind into small and the medium ball grind into small balls. Therefore, under normal circumstances, there is no need to add small balls.

Each manufacturer should carefully analyze its actual situation, and find out the suitable ball ratio and addition amount through long-term research and accumulation, and it must not be added blindly.