Producing Metal Powder from Machining Chips Using Ball Milling Process: A Review

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Sustainable Manufacturing
• Powder Metallurgy

Background:

• Metal recycling conserves natural resources and reduces energy consumption compared to using virgin materials.
• Rapid tooling (RT) offers a viable approach for utilizing recycled metal scrap in injection molding.
• Sustainable powder production from industrial waste is essential for achieving zero-emission goals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the potential of mechanical alloying via ball milling for sustainable metal powder production from waste.
• To identify key parameters influencing metal powder quality during the ball milling process.
• To highlight the suitability of ball milling for producing powders for mold additive manufacturing (MAM) applications.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of mechanical alloying and ball milling techniques for metal recycling.
• Analysis of factors affecting powder characteristics, including milling type, ball-to-powder ratio (BPR), rotation speed, and process control agent (PCA).
• Evaluation of ball milling's effectiveness in particle size reduction and property enhancement for recycled metal chips.

Main Results:

• Ball milling is an effective method for converting diverse metal waste into usable powders.
• Optimizing ball milling parameters is critical for achieving desired powder quality and characteristics.
• Recycled metal powders produced via ball milling show promise for enhancing mechanical properties in MAM.

Conclusions:

• Ball milling is a valuable technique for recycling metals into powders, contributing to sustainable manufacturing.
• Further research is needed to optimize ball milling parameters for efficient conversion of recycled materials, particularly copper chips.
• Exploring the integration of rapid tooling (RT) with ball milling presents future research opportunities.