Producing Metal Powder from Machining Chips Using Ball Milling Process: A Review

Abstract

In the pursuit of achieving zero emissions, exploring the concept of recycling metal waste from industries and workshops (i.e., waste-free) is essential. This is because metal recycling not only helps conserve natural resources but also requires less energy as compared to the production of new products from virgin raw materials. The use of metal scrap in rapid tooling (RT) for injection molding is an interesting and viable approach. Recycling methods enable the recovery of valuable metal powders from various sources, such as electronic, industrial, and automobile scrap. Mechanical alloying is a potential opportunity for sustainable powder production as it has the capability to convert various starting materials with different initial sizes into powder particles through the ball milling process. Nevertheless, parameter factors, such as the type of ball milling, ball-to-powder ratio (BPR), rotation speed, grinding period, size and shape of the milling media, and process control agent (PCA), can influence the quality and characteristics of the metal powders produced. Despite potential drawbacks and environmental impacts, this process can still be a valuable method for recycling metals into powders. Further research is required to optimize the process. Furthermore, ball milling has been widely used in various industries, including recycling and metal mold production, to improve product properties in an environmentally friendly way. This review found that ball milling is the best tool for reducing the particle size of recycled metal chips and creating new metal powders to enhance mechanical properties and novelty for mold additive manufacturing (MAM) applications. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct further research on various parameters associated with ball milling to optimize the process of converting recycled copper chips into powder. This research will assist in attaining the highest level of efficiency and effectiveness in particle size reduction and powder quality. Lastly, this review also presents potential avenues for future research by exploring the application of RT in the ball milling technique.

Achieving optimal balance: tuning electrical and optical characteristics of carbon electrodes for emerging photovoltaics

“…A ball mill is a cylindrical chamber that rotates around its axis while containing a grinding medium, such as balls. 44 First, around 20 g of graphite powder (Sigma-Aldrich, 99.9% purity, a 20 micron particle size) was taken into the jar of the ball mill. Then, two times the weight of the graphite powder, zirconia balls (Sigma-Aldrich, 95% purity, 10 mm diameter) were placed in the jar.…”

Recent Advancements in Material Waste Recycling: Conventional, Direct Conversion, and Additive Manufacturing Techniques

“…Researchers have worked on processing recycling chips into powders for aluminum alloys [124], stainless steel [291], and titanium alloys [140] so that they can be used for additive manufacturing. Wei et al [292] have reviewed ball milling processes for converting machining chips into powders. Deshpande et al [293] carried out solid state metal additive manufacturing using friction surfacing on metal chips of SS316L.…”

Revealing the Dynamics of Oxygen Vacancy in ZnO1–x/Cu during Robust Methanol Synthesis from CO2

“…15−19 In comparison with alternative methods (Figure 1a), ball milling (BM) demonstrates significant advantages in terms of green chemistry. 20 First, the synthesis with ambient temperature and pressure for BM saves more energy than high-temperature approaches such as heat treatment and high-energy bombardment. Second, the BM of solid powders avoids liquid or gas waste emission, which generally happens in liquid exfoliation and gas pretreatment.…”

“…Various strategies have been developed to create oxygen vacancies in the catalysts including heating treatment, reduction reaction, elemental doping, high-energy bombardment, liquid exfoliation, and mechanical force. − In comparison with alternative methods (Figure a), ball milling (BM) demonstrates significant advantages in terms of green chemistry . First, the synthesis with ambient temperature and pressure for BM saves more energy than high-temperature approaches such as heat treatment and high-energy bombardment.…”