Grinding jars (bowls) for ball mills

The grinding jar shapes purity and grinding speed as much as the mill itself. It has to be harder than the sample and chemically compatible with it — otherwise the chamber walls contaminate the material or wear out fast. So for every planetary and roll ball mill we supply a full set of jars in eight materials, with a lid and seal, in volumes from 50 ml to 5 litres.

Which material for which sample

• Agate — a natural stone with high hardness and chemical resistance; the classic choice when no metallic contamination is allowed.
• Zirconia (ZrO₂) — the hardest and densest of the ceramics (about 6 g/cm³, 12.3 GPa); it gives the balls the highest energy and excels at wet grinding to sub-micron fineness.
• Corundum (Al₂O₃) — an economical, hard ceramic for routine grinding of minerals and oxides.
• 304/316 stainless steel — versatile, durable jars where a trace of iron does no harm.
• Tungsten carbide — extreme hardness and density for the hardest, most abrasive samples.
• Nylon, PTFE and polyurethane — soft, chemically inert liners for gentle grinding, aggressive samples and wet work free of a metallic background.

Selection and compatibility

Jars differ in how they mount on planetary versus roll mills, so with your enquiry give the mill model, the material, the sample size and whether you grind dry or wet. We will also match grinding media (balls) in the same or a harder material. For the full set — mill, jar and balls — see the grinding selection guide. Write to us.