I. Importance of ink grinders and current market situation
As the main part of the equipment in the ink production process, the ink grinder directly determines the fineness, uniformity and color transmission of the ink. There are currently many types of ink mills on the market, from traditional three-wave mills to modern nanometer sand mills, with prices ranging from tens of thousands of yuan to millions of yuan. The harsh reality is that nearly 40% of ink producers have suffered losses due to the wrong choice of grinding equipment, which has little impact on production efficiency and leads to the marriage of entire batches of products.
2. Five Common Deep Pits When Buying Ink Mills
First hole: the fineness does not meet the standard
Many suppliers claim that the equipment can reach a grinding fineness of 1 micron, but when actually used they find that it can only reach more than 5 microns. Even worse, the test reports provided by some manufacturers are obtained under ideal conditions and far from the real situation. The well-known printing press caused insufficient ink transfer speed and direct losses of nearly 1 million pounds.
Second largest hole: temperature control failure
Inks are extremely sensitive to temperature, especially UV inks, which trigger pre-curing when the temperature exceeds 50 degrees Celsius. However, the cooling system of many grinders on the market is useless, and the temperature rises to more than 60 degrees Celsius with continuous operation. We tested the equipment of one brand, and the ink temperature reached a dangerous level after two hours of operation. The Third Trap: Metal Pollution
The use of conventional stainless steel grinding chambers and grinding balls can lead to heavy metal deposition. Customers complained about the manufacturer of food packaging inks because of the excessive zinc content. High-end models now use ceramic inserts and zirconium dioxide grinding balls, but this entails new cost problems.
The fourth big trap: the black hole of energy consumption
Some old grinding machines consume two to three times more electricity than new equipment. Based on eight hours of work a day, the difference in the electricity bill after a year is enough to buy half a new car. What is even more frightening, these devices often do hands and feet on technical parameters, and the actual power seriously does not match the nominal value.
The fifth trap: the after-sales service trap
The maintenance cycle for many imported brands is surprisingly long, and it usually takes two to three months to get the accessory. Meanwhile, the level of technical support staff at some domestic manufacturers is uneven and they are unable to solve the problem when it arises. The colleague endured the painful experience of three months of stuck in the equipment nest and was forced to switch to OEM.
3. Seven characteristics of the perfect ink grinder
First, there should be an accurate temperature control system, preferably two-cycle water cooling with semiconductor cooling, which can control the ink temperature in the range of ±1°C. Second, the grinding fineness should be stable to less than 1 micron, and it should be equipped with an online particle size detector to monitor the grinding effect in real time.
The third is material safety, and all components that come into contact with the inks must be made of 316L stainless steel or ceramics. The fourth is the level of intelligence that should be able to register and store process parameters and maintain formula memory function. Fifth, energy efficiency: new permanent magnet motors can save more than 30% of energy compared to traditional motors.
Sixth, scalability should be considered, preferably by modifying the module to adapt to inks of different viscosities. Finally, service convenience: the quick disassembly design can greatly reduce cleaning and color change time, and some high-end models also come with CIP automatic cleaning.
4. Difficulties and pain points in the procurement process
The biggest challenge is checking the adaptability of the process. Equipment that works well in the lab may not be the same after scaling to a larger scale.
Manufacturing. We have encountered a typical case: dispersion at the nanometer level can be achieved in small tests, but in mass production there is a serious phenomenon of return to thickness.
Second, the standard system is chaotic. GB/T 13217 is used in China, ASTM D1316 is used in Europe and the United States, and JIS K5701 is used in Japan. The results of the fineness tests according to different standards can vary by more than 20%. Combined with inconsistent detection methods in each family, it is easy to get confused.
The third pain point is the processing of special inks. For example, conductive inks must retain the full structure of carbon nanotubes, and some fluorescent inks are particularly sensitive to displacement force. Conventional crushers are difficult to meet these special requirements.
Finally, there is the problem of cost control. Imported equipment has good performance but is expensive, while domestic equipment is cheap and uneven in quality. The biggest headaches are consumables and maintenance costs, and some manufacturers make money selling grinding balls and accessories.
V. Enlargement: four related themes
About the choice of sand mills and three-shaft machines. The sand mill is suitable for mass production, but it does not work very well with high viscosity inks; The three-shaft machine is more adaptable and less efficient. The most advanced is the composite grinding system that combines the two.
Special attention should be paid to the purchase of used equipment. In addition to checking for mechanical wear, more attention should be paid to whether the control system is outdated. PLCs in some old equipment have been taken out of production and are difficult to repair if something goes wrong.
New technologies deserve attention. For example, ultrasonic polishing can reduce energy consumption by 30%, while intelligent algorithms can automatically optimize polishing parameters. At present, however, these technologies are not mature enough and investments should be cautious.
Finally, let's talk about the choice of grinding balls. Zirconium balls are the most economical, but they can introduce impurities when working with certain special inks. Some manufacturers are now starting to use polymer grinding balls, although they are expensive, but there is no risk of contamination at all.
VI. Recommendations for procurement decisions
Site visits are required. The supplier must provide the machine for continuous testing for at least 72 hours, preferably with its own production inks for testing. At the same time, we must carefully check the data on energy consumption and attract an electricity quality analyzer if conditions allow.
The terms of the contract must be clear. Criteria for acceptance and liability for breach of contract should be prescribed, particularly with regard to key indicators such as compliance with fineness and temperature control. Provisions on after-sales service, including response time, spare parts, etc., should also be clarified. d.
Finally, it is recommended that a professional evaluation group be formed. Joint involvement of technology engineers, equipment engineers and procurement staff is needed to evaluate from different perspectives. Remember that the most expensive is not necessarily the best, and the first choice will be one that suits your specific manufacturing needs.