Retsch Planetary Ball Mill PM100 (PBM1)

Operation manual:

• Add the grinding balls to the grinding jar
• Fill the grinding jar with the material to be ground in a fume cupboard to protect against emissions of fine particles into the lab.
  • If you decide to perform wet grinding, add the liquid to the grinding jar before adding the material to be ground.
    • Wet grinding is mostly used to protect materials from air or to stop fine particles from floating away during grinding.
    • Use only non-flammable liquids.
    • It is possible to use flammable liquids in this machine, such as alcohols or organic solvents, but special precautions must be taken regarding the grinding jar lids. A new risk assessment must be carried out before any such work is performed.
    • Further information, including relevant safety advice, is available in the manual for the machine.
• Seal the grinding jar with the locking mechanism.
• Weigh the total weight of the grinding jar together with the lid and record the mass.
• Connect the ball milling machine to the power supply, and switch on the power switch at the back of the machine.
• Mount the grinding jar (see the user manual for pictures of each step)
  • Press the “open” button to open the machine cover.
  • Place the grinding jar in the mounting point. Make sure that the anti-rotation hole at the bottom of the jar is aligned with the anti-rotation pin located on the holder.
  • Insert grinding bowl clamping unit into the latching brackets.
  • Lift the red sleeve of the clamping unit using the opening aid and turn the three-star grip at the top of the clamp clockwise until the safety indicator on the latching brackets turns green.
  • Make sure that the red sleeve returns to the closed (down) position after tightening. If it is stuck in the free position (upper), tighten the three-star grip a little more until it drops.
  • Try turning the three-star grip.  If it is possible to turn it, check that the red sleeve has moved down fully.  Do not proceed beyond this step if you can still turn the three-star grip.
• Adjust the counterweight to match the total weight of the grinding jar assembly.
  • If you are using any of the combinations of grinding jars and safety assemblies listed in the manual, you must add an additional 1kg counterweight, as specified in the manual.
• Close the housing cover and wait for the cover to be locked automatically.
• Move the ventilation arm that is located on the ceiling above the bench so that it is above the machine and ensure it is open so that air is flowing into it.
• Set the grinding program on the digital interface, and start the grinding process.
• Check that no abnormal vibration or noise occurs during grinding process in the first 3 minutes of the program.
• After the program is complete, open the machine cover and take out the grinding jar.
  • Lift the red sleeve (using the opening aid if necessary)
  • Turn the three-star grip anti-clockwise until the clamping unit may be removed
  • Lift the jar out of the machine
• Insert the clamping unit back into the latching bracket. Close the cover of the machine and shut down its main power. Unplug its electricity supply. 
• Take the grinding jar to a fume cupboard, and check the temperature.  Once it is cool, slowly open the lid to remove sample. A sieve may be used to separate grinding balls from the sample material.
• Clean the grinding jar and grinding balls in an ultrasonic bath containing water, and leave them in air to dry.

Routine maintenance:

• Maintenance before each grinding run:
  • Remove the O-ring on the grinding jar lid and clean it with ethanol
  • The grinding jar should be cleaned thoroughly after each use, either by brushing and rinsing in water, or by cleaning it in an ultrasonic bath
  • The grinding jar can be dried in an oven up to 120 °C

Instructors

Licensed Users