In ceramics, ball mills are used to grind down materials into very fine particles. Materials such as clay and glaze components can be broken down in a ball mill by getting placed into rotating or rolling jars with porcelain balls inside them. During milling, the porcelain balls pulverized the materials into an incredibly fine powder. Ball mills can be used to further break down or refine a single material, or you can place multiple materials into a ball mill jar to mix as you pulverize -- this is a very common industrial solution for mixing glazes that require the smallest of mesh sizes. Ball mills serve a similar function to a mortar and pestle, but on a larger scale.
We carry ball mills and produced by Peter Pugger and Japan-based Nidec-Shimpo. Both company's lines of heavy duty ball mills allow for very precise grinding and mixing of both dry and wet materials. The porcelain jars are available in a variety of sizes, ranging from one liter to ten liters in capacity, so you can customize your ball mill to suit your needs. If you are a potter working out of your home or a shared studio and don’t have the space or budget for a full-scale ball mill setup, consider Shimpo’s ball mill wheel attachment -- this ingenious setup allows you to turn any standard potter’s wheel into a makeshift ball mill!
