Horizontal bead mill

Introduction:

A horizontal bead mill/sand mill is a grinding machine that uses zirconia or glass beads as grinding media to reduce particles to micron or sub-micron size. The grinding chamber is mounted horizontally, allowing high media filling rates and continuous operation. It is ideal for superfine grinding of solids in liquid and semi-liquid materials, and also performs wetting, homogenizing, dispersing, and deagglomeration. 

Working Principle of bead mill:

A horizontal bead mill consists of a cylindrical grinding chamber filled with grinding media, typically 0.3–3 mm zirconia beads. A rotating shaft with discs or pins agitates the media at high speed. The product is pumped through the chamber and ground by impact and shear forces between the beads. A dynamic separator at the outlet retains the media while allowing the ground product to discharge. A cooling jacket controls temperature during continuous operation.

The grinding process follows these steps:

1.Pre-mix the material – prepare the product to a uniform consistency before feeding.

2.Feed into the pump – transfer the pre-mixed material into the feeding pump.

3.Pump into the grinding chamber – the pump delivers the material into the main grinding chamber.

4.Add grinding media – zirconia or glass beads are added in the required amount.

5.High-speed collision – particles collide at high speed, generating shear, mixing, and emulsifying effects.

6.Reach required fineness – grinding continues until the target particle size and dispersion are achieved.

7.Discharge – a special separator retains the grinding media and discharges the processed product.

Types of Bead Mills:

There are three main types of horizontal bead mills, distinguished by the shape of the agitator inside the grinding chamber.

Disc Type Bead Mill

The shaft carries multiple flat discs. This is the most common design, suitable for low to medium viscosity products such as paint, ink, and pigment paste. It offers stable grinding performance and is easy to maintain.

Pin Type Bead Mill

The shaft carries cylindrical pins instead of discs. The pins create stronger turbulence and higher shear force, making this type suitable for high-flow, low to medium viscosity products. It is often used in pesticide and chemical production where throughput matters.

Turbo Type Bead Mill

The shaft carries turbine-shaped agitators. This design provides the highest energy density and is used for sub-micron grinding, such as battery slurry and nano-scale ink. It requires smaller grinding media (0.3–0.5 mm) and precise temperature control.

Which Type Should You Choose?

Note: Data for reference only. Grinding results vary with material properties and formulation. Contact our engineers for model selection.

Options

• Chamber&rotor material – PU,harden  alloy steel or ceramic-line

• Sanitary design – Mirror polish, no dead corner, CIP cleaning

• Explosion-proof – Ex d IIB T4 or Ex d IIC T4 motor

• Cooling – low-temperature chiller

• Control – Manual, PLC + HMI, or remote monitoring

Note:Tell us your product and compliance requirement. We will confirm the right configuration before quotation.

Typical Application of bead mill:

Our FGS Series bead mill can disperse and grind most fluidity products of powders in liquids:

• Fine chemical products:paints,coatings,disperse dyes,inks,pigments and filler pigments

• Agrochemical：pesticide suspension(SC), fertilizer, seed treatment

• Minerals slurry:calcium carbonate, kaolin,talc,metallic oxide

• Food:food colouring,chocolate slurry,cocoa slurry,any food suspension with stable system

• Cosmetics:Lipstick, concealer, lip balm, face cream, sunscreen, eye cream, nail polish

• Pharmaceuticals:active ingredients and additives in pharmaceuticals often require nano fineness with narrow particle size distribution.

• Cell disruption：Breaking the cell wall for algae

• Superfine materials: Semiconductor industry (transistor),CMP slurry,nanotube

Technical Specification of FGS Series Bead Mills:

The FGS series bead mill was developed based on European technology and has evolved into a fifth-generation product with mature, proven performance. It is available in four models covering a grinding range from 50 nm to 100 microns.

Note: The above data is for reference only. Actual grinding results may vary depending on material properties and formulation. Please contact our process engineers for a suitable model recommendation.

Request a Quote

Tell us your product, viscosity, target fineness and capacity. We will recommend the right model and provide a quotation within 24 hours.