Laboratory mills, used primarily for sample prep prior to analysis, use particle size reduction (comminution) to grind or homogenize wet, dry, hard, soft, elastic, brittle, and fibrous materials. Mills and grinders are used in labs in widely varying scientific areas, including chemistry, pharmaceuticals, food analysis, materials testing, and life science. Disk, hammer, mortar, planetary ball, rotor, and cutting mills are available to achieve coarse, mid-range, and fine results, all the way down to the nano range, <0.1 µm. Cryogenic mills, or freezer mills, are a type of unit that freezes a material prior to reducing its particle size.
What to consider when choosing a laboratory mill?
When purchasing a mill, power, speed, and cleanability are useful parameters; however, it is also important to keep in mind the instrument’s throughput, reproducibility, and yield, as well as the option of a cooling system, if necessary.
Compare and request a quote for laboratory mills from various manufacturers:
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| Company | RETSCH | RETSCH | RETSCH | RETSCH |
| Item | Planetary Ball Mill PM 100 | Cyclone Mill TWISTER | Knife Mill Grindomix GM 200 | Mixer Mill MM 400 |
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| Catalog Number | PM 100 | Twister | GM 200 | MM 400 |
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| Description | Planetary Ball Mills are used wherever the highest degree of fineness is required. Apart from the classical mixing and size reduction processes, the mills also meet all the technical requirements for colloidal grinding and have the energy input necessary for mechanical alloying processes. The Planetary Ball Mills are used wherever the highest degree of fineness is required. Apart from the classical mixing and size reduction processes, the mills also meet all the technical requirements for colloidal grinding and have the energy input necessary for mechanical alloying processes. The extremely high centrifugal forces of the Planetary Ball Mills result in very high pulverization energy and therefore short grinding times.
The PM 100 CM is a convenient benchtop model with 1 grinding station. It operates in centrifugal mode mode, which leads to a more gentle size reduction process with less abrasion.
Features - Powerful and quick grinding down to nano range
- Perfect stability on lab bench thanks to FFCS technology
- Innovative counter weight and imbalance sensor for unsupervised operation
- Gentle grinding in centrifugal mode
- Comfortable parameter setting via display and ergonomic 1-button operation
- Automatic grinding chamber ventilation
- 10 SOPs can be stored
- Programmable starting time
- Power failure backup ensures storage of remaining grinding time
- Reproducible results due to energy and speed control
- Suitable for long-term trials and continuous use
- 2 different grinding modes (dry and wet)
- Optional pressure and temperature measuring system PM GrindControl
- Measurement of energy input
- Wide range of materials for contamination free grinding
- Safety Slider for safe operation
... Read More | The cyclone mill TWISTER is specially designed for the processing of foods and feeds for subsequent NIR analysis. The optimized form of rotor and grinding chamber generates an air jet which carries the ground sample through the integrated cyclone into the sample bottle. The air jet prevents the The cyclone mill TWISTER is specially designed for the processing of foods and feeds for subsequent NIR analysis. The optimized form of rotor and grinding chamber generates an air jet which carries the ground sample through the integrated cyclone into the sample bottle. The air jet prevents the material from heating up, thus preserving the moisture content.
The provided sieves guarantee an optimum particle size distribution so that it is not necessary to recalibrate the NIR spectrometer. The rotor speed can be adjusted in 3 steps allowing for perfect adaptation to the sample requirements. Cleaning the mill is quick and easy as the air jet effects a complete discharge of the material from the grinding chamber.
This new cyclone mill in proven RETSCH quality optimizes the reproducible sample preparation to NIR analysis thus allowing for meaningful and reliable analysis results.
Features - Ideal for grinding feeds, grains, forage and other similar products
- 3 controlled speeds
- Cyclone separator with 250 ml collecting bottle for quick extraction of sample
- No cross contamination thanks to easy cleaning
- Convenient operating panel
- Professional industrial design with long lifetime
... Read More | The new knife mill GRINDOMIX GM 200 is the ideal instrument for the grinding and homogenization of foodstuffs. It allows to process sample volumes up to 1 liters quickly and reproducibly.
With two sharp, robust blades and a powerful motor which can reach temporary peaks of 1 kW, it is ideal for The new knife mill GRINDOMIX GM 200 is the ideal instrument for the grinding and homogenization of foodstuffs. It allows to process sample volumes up to 1 liters quickly and reproducibly.
With two sharp, robust blades and a powerful motor which can reach temporary peaks of 1 kW, it is ideal for homogenizing substances with a high water, oil or fat content as well as for grinding dry, soft and medium-hard products. The GRINDOMIX GM 200 meets and exceeds all special laboratory and analytical requirements and is a professional device superior to any commercial household mixer.
Features - Efficient size reduction of up to 700 ml feed quantity due to a powerful 1 kW motor
- Pre- and fine-grinding in one mill: cutting action in regular mode, grinding by impact in reverse mode, pre-grinding in interval mode
- All parts which come into contact with the sample material are autoclavable
- Perfect adaptation to application requirements by variable speed from 2,000 to 10,000 min-1
- CryoKit available for grinding embrittled or deeply frozen samples
- Optional gravitaty lid for automatic reduction of the grinding chamber volume
- Optional volume reduction lid available
- 8 SOPs and 4 sequences can be stored
- Grinding jar in plastic and stainless steel available
... Read More | The mixer mill MM 400 is a compact versatile bench-top unit, which has been developed specially for dry, wet and cryogenic grinding of small amounts of sample.
It can mix and homogenize powders and suspensions in only a few seconds. It is also perfectly suitable for the disruption of biological The mixer mill MM 400 is a compact versatile bench-top unit, which has been developed specially for dry, wet and cryogenic grinding of small amounts of sample.
It can mix and homogenize powders and suspensions in only a few seconds. It is also perfectly suitable for the disruption of biological cells as well as for DNA/RNA extraction. With its high performance and great flexibility the MM 400 is a unique product in the market.
Features - Reproducible, efficient grinding, mixing and homogenization in seconds
- Powerful grinding by impact and friction, up to 30 Hz for up to 20 samples per run
- 3 different grinding modes (dry, wet or cryogenic)
- Screw-top grinding jars for leak-proof grinding
- 9 SOPs can be stored
- Wide range of accessories including various jar and ball sizes, adapter racks, grinding tool materials, CryoKit
... Read More |
| Principle | Impact and Friction | Impact and Friction | Cutting | Impact and Friction |
| Sample Size | < 10 mm | <10 mm | ~ 40 mm | < = 8 mm |
| Sample Type | Soft, Hard, Brittle or Fibrous - Dry or Wet | Fibrous or Soft | Soft, Medium-Hard, Elastic, Containing Water/Fat/Oil, Dry or Fibrous | Hard, Medium-Hard, Soft, Brittle, Elastic or Fibrous |
| Applications | Pulverizing, Mixing, Homogenizing and Colloidal Milling: Agriculture, Biology, Chemistry / Plastics, Construction Materials, Engineering / Electronics, Environment / Recycling, Geology / Metallurgy, Glass / Ceramics, Medicine / Pharmaceuticals | Grinding Prior to NIR Analysis: Agriculture, Foods / Feeds, Medicine / Pharmaceuticals | Size Reduction, Homogenization and Mixing: Agriculture, Biology, Food, Medicine / Pharmaceuticals | Size Reduction, Mixing, Homogenization, Cell Disruption and Cryogenic Grinding: Agriculture, Biology, Chemistry / Plastics, Construction Materials, Engineering / Electronics, Environment / Recycling, Food, Geology / Metallurgy, Glass / Ceramics, Medicine / Pharmaceuticals |
| Speed | 100 to 650 min-1 | 10,000 to 14,000 min-1 | 2,000 to 10,000 min-1 | 3 to 30 Hz |
| Rotor Type | grinding jar and balls | TWISTER rotor | Stainless steel knife, knife titanium; CryoKit | grinding jar and balls |
| Final Fineness | < 1 um or < 0.1 um for Colloidal Grinding | < 500 um | < 300 um | ~ 5 um |
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