Ball mill

[MNwr786]

Girlfriend lost interest in her treadmill a couple years ago and its been sitting outside since. Today i finally repurposed it.

 

[Proud Prepper]

What will you be blending?

 

[Mountain trapper]

I'm familiar with ball mills used for crushing ore, but what are you going to use this for?

 

[MNwr786]

What will you be blending?

I plan to start with making pyrophoric (or close to it) aluminum powder and have a little fun with perchlorates

However, i just measured the power factor on this old motor at 0.27 (now running with essentially no load). A little math tells me i need a 160uF capacitor to bring the PF up to 0.95 and what i thought was going to be a free project will now cost me about $40 to get the current draw down.

 

[Illini Warrior]

treadmills are great for salvaging that variable speed motor - the belting comes in handy also and is worth rolling up for storage ....

 

[MNwr786]

treadmills are great for salvaging that variable speed motor - the belting comes in handy also and is worth rolling up for storage ....

This one was a constant speed motor with a spring loaded split pulley (variable diameter) and a cable assembly that moves the motor (drawing the belt deeper into the pulley) for the speed control. It turned out to be the perfect speed with it adjusted to half way. My better half wants to buy one of those fancy ones with a variable frequency drive inverter and i look forward to the day she gives up on that! It won't take me 2 years to tear that one apart!!!

 

[Schattentarn]

I plan to start with making pyrophoric (or close to it) aluminum powder and have a little fun with perchlorates

However, i just measured the power factor on this old motor at 0.27 (now running with essentially no load). A little math tells me i need a 160uF capacitor to bring the PF up to 0.95 and what i thought was going to be a free project will now cost me about $40 to get the current draw down.

I had to look this up. Can your final product be used to ignite thermite?

 

[MNwr786]

I had to look this up. Can your final product be used to ignite thermite?

The final product is the flash powder used in firecrackers. I haven't done much with thermite but i assume the ratio and/or particle size would need to be adjusted for that so it didnt just flash off without thermite ignition.

Thermite is on my list of things to experiment with as theres some hotter thermites using oxides other than iron that interest me. As for igniting it, i would probably (not saying it would work like a torch or Mg ribbon) try dissolving nitrocellulose (green flakes in ammo) in acetone (fingernail polish remover) and dipping the fuse end in (like i do with my electric matches) and progressively make the nitrocellulose ball larger by dipping it repeatedly as the acetone evaporates thickening the NC. Then, a final dip in the same starting mixture containing Mg turnings (larger, not powder) so they are embedded in the outer layer of plasticized NC.

 

[MNwr786]

Now im curious myself, the oxide is in the oven ill find out if a fuse prepared like that can light thermite in an hour or so.

 

[MNwr786]

That was fun...

 

[Schattentarn]

WOW, MNwr786, I see you are the resident chemist/chemical engineer on this site. That was great. Thanks for answering my questions so well.

 

[Illini Warrior]

what do you intend to use as grinding media? - it's one of those industrial items in short supply depending on what you need >>> Israel exports some of the best high tech media used in the finer grinds

 

[MNwr786]

what do you intend to use as grinding media? - it's one of those industrial items in short supply depending on what you need >>> Israel exports some of the best high tech media used in the finer grinds

With my current intentions, this thing will be pulverizing, not grinding or polishing. The only media I need (and already have) are steel ball bearings of various diameter.

Some day i may polish rocks or clean parts with it, but I currently have no plan that involves abrasives.