Flake Particle Synthesis from Ductile Metal Particles Using a Novel High-speed Vibratory Mill

Abstract

A novel particle processor was designed and built for the production of flake-shaped powders. 300 μm magnesium and 140 μm iron particles processed for 1 and 2 minutes were analyzed for dimensional, ductile, and morphological characteristics. Particle diameter distributions tended to broaden towards higher size ranges after 2 minutes of processing; the mean particle size was in the range of 400 μm for magnesium and 300 μm for iron. The flake thickness decreased over time, leading to a mean-thickness of 12 μm for the magnesium particle sample processed with 2 × 6.0 mm milling ball media after 2 minutes. The effect of particle medium showed that the milling operation had greater influences on the more ductile material. Surface morphology also became smoother as the milling time increased. Larger ball media tended to produce samples with larger particle sizes with wider size distributions, while smaller ball media produced smaller particles with narrower size distributions. Loading weights also tended to have similar trends. The novel process was demonstrated as an effective and efficient method for the production of flake-shaped metal particles which greatly reduced the amount of milling time and energy required for flake particle production.