EQUIPMENT COMPARISONS
Side-by-side comparisons of grinding mills, dispersers and mixers. Each page covers how the machines work, where each one fits, and the question that actually decides the choice.
An equipment comparison only helps if it answers the decision you are actually making. Spec sheets list power, volume and speed, but those numbers rarely decide the choice on their own. What decides it is the working principle, the material behaviour and the production pattern around the machine.
Read every comparison on this page with three questions in mind. First, how does the machine apply energy — does it wet and de-agglomerate powder, reduce particle size with grinding media, or blend a paste? Second, where does it fit in the process — is it a pre-dispersion step, the fine-grinding step, or the final mixing step? Third, what changes downstream — batch size, colour-change time, cleaning, operator skill and the fineness you can hold from batch to batch.
Most selection mistakes come from comparing two machines that do different jobs. A high-speed disperser and a bead mill are not competitors: the disperser prepares the mix and the mill refines it. A basket mill and a horizontal bead mill are both mills, but one is built for batch flexibility and the other for continuous fineness. Getting the comparison category right removes most of the confusion before you look at a single specification.
Use the table below to match your situation to a starting point, then open the detailed comparison for the machines involved. Where two options still look viable, the deciding factors are usually viscosity, batch size, colour-change frequency and the fineness you must hold — not price.
| If your situation is… | Start with | Then verify |
|---|---|---|
| Only need to wet out and de-agglomerate powder, no fineness target | High-speed disperser | Whether a defined D90 or gloss target actually exists |
| A specified fineness (D90 in microns) must be held | Bead mill | Viscosity and batch size decide basket vs horizontal |
| Small batches with frequent colour changes | Basket mill | Cleaning time and realistic batch size |
| High-viscosity paste that will not flow through a chamber | Planetary or double-planetary mixer | Whether a disperser is needed for pre-mix |
| Very high pigment loading with a tight gloss target | Three-roll mill | Throughput and labour per batch |
| Continuous, high-volume production of one product | Horizontal bead mill, in-line | Upstream pre-dispersion quality and feed stability |
When a buyer asks “which machine do I need”, the answer is rarely a single model. It is a short chain of decisions, and each step removes options. Work through them in order — by the third step the field is usually down to one or two machines.
This is the filter that removes the most confusion. If the goal is only to wet powder into a liquid, a high-speed disperser is enough and no mill is needed. If a defined particle size must be held, you need a mill. If the product is a stiff paste that will not pump, you need a planetary mixer or a three-roll mill, not a chamber mill.
Fineness is the second filter. Below roughly 1 micron, a horizontal bead mill is the realistic route because it agitates small media at high tip speed. Between 1 and 10 microns, a basket mill or bead mill both work, and batch flexibility or throughput decide between them. Above 10 microns, a disperser alone often closes the gap.
Batch wins when you change products often, run small volumes, or colour-change frequently — a basket mill shines here. Continuous wins when one product runs at high volume with a stable feed; a horizontal bead mill in line is the standard answer.
Capacity and viscosity set the chamber size and the drive. Very high-viscosity pastes (typically above about 50,000 cP) do not flow through a bead-mill chamber and point back to a three-roll mill or a planetary mixer. Volume per batch tells you the vessel size; annual tonnage tells you whether a single machine or a line is the right unit.
| If your values are roughly… | Likely starting point |
|---|---|
| Viscosity < 5,000 cP, target D90 > 10 µm, no size reduction needed | High-speed disperser |
| Viscosity 1,000–50,000 cP, target D90 1–10 µm, small or frequent batches | Basket mill |
| Viscosity 100–20,000 cP, target D90 0.05–1 µm, steady feed | Horizontal bead mill (continuous) |
| Viscosity > 50,000 cP paste, high pigment loading | Three-roll mill |
| Stiff paste, no flow; mixing only, no size reduction | Planetary / double-planetary mixer |
These are starting points, not specifications. Real viscosity, solids loading, temperature limits and the particle-size distribution you must hold all move the final choice — which is why we recommend sending the formulation rather than guessing from a table.
Start from your production pattern, not from a machine name. The number of products you run, the batch size and the frequency of colour changes usually decide the answer before fineness targets are even discussed.
If two options still look viable after reading, send the formulation and the batch size to our engineers. We will state which machine we would specify and where a trial is needed.
A horizontal bead mill reaches finer sizes because it agitates small media at high tip speed, typically down to the 50 nm to 1 micron range. A basket mill is optimised for batch work and higher-viscosity products, usually in the 1 to 5 micron range.
Yes. A disperser wets out and de-agglomerates the powder before milling, which is what lets the mill reach its rated output. A bead mill reduces particle size but does not replace proper pre-dispersion.
A three-roll mill suits high-viscosity pastes and high pigment loadings that will not flow through a bead-mill chamber, and solvent-free or heat-sensitive products where a paste route is preferred.
A basket mill can premix and grind in a single batch vessel, which suits small batches and frequent colour changes. A high-speed disperser only wets and disperses and cannot reduce particle size on its own.
Choose batch when you run many products, small volumes or frequent colour changes; choose continuous when one product runs at high volume and a stable feed can be maintained. Batch size, changeover frequency and throughput usually decide it before fineness targets.