Sample assessment
These are separate calcium-hydroxide and apatite powders. Their incoming distributions differ greatly: apatite starts much coarser in both percentiles. The same nominal zirconia contact, 5 mm ball size and alcohol wet route therefore provide two sample-specific observations, rather than evidence that all mineral powders respond identically.
Recorded objective
Finer material, with no numerical acceptance limit recorded.
Equipment and selection
The source identifies QXQM family. The related TENCAN product association is Laboratory Full-Directional Planetary Ball Mill. This identifies the recorded equipment family, rather than an independently verified serial-number configuration. Jar contact materials and charge details below are test observations; an unspecified steel grade or ball-percentage basis is not supplied by the association.
Test setup
| Recorded setup | QXQM planetary family; 250 mL zirconia jars and 5 mm zirconia balls; alcohol wet milling at setting 580; run/pause cycle recorded as 5:1; interval units unspecified. Apatite mass was 50 g; the header mass is also 50 g. |
|---|---|
| Speed notation | Values are retained as recorded speed settings. The source does not identify the revolution/rotation reference; no separate jar speed is inferred. |
Recorded procedure and results
Calcium hydroxide initially measured D50 = 4.43 µm and D90 = 14.32 µm. After two-and-a-half hours of alcohol wet milling, the recorded values were D50 = 4.31 µm and D90 = 8.37 µm. Apatite initially measured D50 = 55.08 µm and D90 = 112.91 µm. Its 50 g charge was processed in a 250 mL zirconia jar with 5 mm zirconia balls, also in alcohol at setting 580 for two-and-a-half hours. The final apatite sample gave D50 = 1.91 µm and D90 = 3.48 µm.
Interpretation
Both materials supplied favorable measured outcomes without a later adverse observation. Calcium hydroxide showed little change in median but a larger decline in D90, whereas apatite showed substantial changes in both percentiles. The difference argues for examining the whole supplied distribution rather than using one number to describe every feed. These are separate samples, not a mixed formulation, and the common nominal conditions do not establish identical charge behavior or comparative energy efficiency.
Practical precautions
Specify the alcohol and its amount for each charge. Keep the incoming and milled sample-dispersion methods comparable, and confirm whether the calcium-hydroxide charge mass matches the header. Check chemical compatibility before reusing the wet route.
TENCAN alternatives to evaluate
TENCAN Vertical square planetary ball mill: Evaluate the XQM vertical family using separate matched charges of calcium hydroxide and apatite. Compare both percentiles for each powder; the much smaller median response in calcium hydroxide makes a single combined fineness claim unsuitable. This is a recommendation for a new comparison, not an observed result of this trial.
Endpoint context: Calcium hydroxide: D50 4.31 µm, D90 8.37 µm; apatite: D50 1.91 µm, D90 3.48 µm; each at 2.5 hours.
Tested equipment association only: QXQM family; exact machine variant not inferred. Alternative products are evaluation candidates in the body only.
About this trial
TENCAN laboratory trial, 2022. Observations above come from this experimental record; selection considerations and proposed comparisons are engineering interpretation. Results apply to this sample and recorded conditions.