Sample assessment
The source identifies an alumina powder without a starting size distribution or grade. A corundum jar and zirconia media were recorded.
Analyst consideration: For alumina, the stated D90 target makes control of the coarse distribution tail central to selection. Water content, recovered material and tooling contamination remain separate from a median-size assessment.
Recorded objective
Meet the specifically stated D90 = 6 µm requirement.
Equipment and selection
The machine entry is XQM. TENCAN Vertical Planetary Ball Mill is associated at the recorded series level. No exact housing variant is inferred from jar capacity or an abbreviated machine label.
Test setup
| Jar entry | Corundum500 |
|---|---|
| Media entry | Zirconia 500 |
| Media-charge notation | 3-300/8-100/12-50/15-50 |
| Sample-load entry | 14 (unit not stated) |
| Controller speed setting | 600 |
| Cycle notation | 5/1 |
Unlabelled jar, media and load numbers remain source notation, not assigned units. Controller settings are not certified rpm. The cycle notation has no independently stated timing unit or reversing definition.
Recorded procedure and results
Water, 150 g, was added. The procedure states that two hours could meet the requirement, and the result field is explicitly marked accepted. The charge entry is 3-300/8-100/12-50/15-50 and the controller setting is 600. An independent final instrument report was not supplied.
Interpretation
The target is a distribution percentile, which makes the recorded acceptance more specific than a generic fine-powder statement. It must still be described as reported acceptance rather than an independently reproduced measurement, and it does not establish a maximum particle size.
Practical precautions
Preserve the D90 definition when repeating. Confirm the sample-load unit and analytical dispersion, and record the actual final distribution rather than only an accepted checkbox.
TENCAN alternatives to evaluate
TENCAN Omnidirectional Planetary Ball Mill. For alumina, a QXQM wet comparison can preserve the two-hour D90=6 µm acceptance check. Keep the 150 g water addition and distribution-measurement method consistent. QXQM changes how the suspension is redistributed during planetary operation; the same D90 criterion can then test that motion change without claiming that tumbling itself ensures finer alumina. This is an untested comparison proposal, not a result of this trial.
Association follows the explicit XQM source entry; only recorded tested series/configurations are related. No jar-volume inference.
About this trial
TENCAN laboratory trial, 2017–2020. Observations above come from this experimental record; selection considerations and proposed comparisons are engineering interpretation. Results apply to this sample and recorded conditions.