Powder test sieve

Tuesday July-15 2025  17:12:14

What is a powder test sieve?

Powder test sieve is an experimental device used to analyze and detect the particle size distribution of powdered materials. It is widely used in the fields of medicine, metallurgy, chemical industry, food, new materials, etc. This equipment is usually used with a standard sieve, with mesh sizes ranging from 20 to 500, covering a particle size range of about 850 microns to 25 microns.

Due to its inherent physical properties, such as fine particles, easy to fly, easy to absorb moisture, and easy to agglomerate, powders face unique technical challenges when sieving particles. Powders can easily form piles or "bridges" on the sieve, hindering the passage of particles. Therefore, powder test sieves usually use high-frequency, multi-dimensional or three-dimensional vibration modes, such as slapping, shocking or ultrasonic-assisted vibrating sieves. Powder test sieve allows materials to be graded and distributed on multiple layers of sieves. By weighing the material intercepted on each layer of the sieve, the proportion of materials in different particle size segments can be obtained, and then the particle size distribution curve of the powder can be accurately depicted, providing key data support for product quality control, process optimization and scientific research.

Classification of powder test sieves

The powder test sieve is classified according to the application accuracy. The ordinary test sieve is suitable for screening conventional powders in the range of 80~200 mesh, and is often used for rapid quality inspection; the high-precision test sieve can achieve 300~500 mesh ultrafine powder classification, with fine vibration and good repeatability, and is often used in material research and development and high-end industrial powders. Coarse-screen test sieves are used to screen large-particle powders or agglomerated powders below 40 mesh, focusing on removing foreign matter or large particles.

Ordinary precision test sieves (conventional screening) are suitable for conventional particle size detection of most industrial powders and granular materials; they are often used in factory inspections, raw material screening, and other occasions where screening accuracy is not required. High-precision test sieves (precision screening) are used for particle size analysis and grade classification of fine powders and ultrafine particles; they are used in pharmaceutical, fine chemical, 3D printing metal powder, lithium battery materials and other industries. Coarse-screen test sieves (fast screening/grading) are used to quickly remove large particles, agglomerates, impurities or perform preliminary particle size classification; they are used in preliminary screening or industrial links that do not require strict particle size control.

Model parameters of powder test sieve

Powder test sieve is mainly used for particle size classification and particle distribution analysis of powder materials, and is widely used in laboratories, quality inspection, scientific research institutions, etc.

Model	sieve frame diameter (mm)	sieve mesh range	sieve mesh aperture (mm)	sieve frame material	sieve mesh material	height (mm)
Φ200 type	200	5 mesh~500 mesh	4.0mm~0.025mm	stainless steel/copper/aluminum alloy	stainless steel/copper wire mesh	50 or 75
Φ100 type	100	5 mesh~300 mesh	4.0mm~0.053mm	stainless steel	stainless steel wire mesh	25 or 40
Φ300 type	300	5 mesh~400 Mesh	4.75mm～0.038mm	stainless steel/carbon steel	stainless steel wire mesh	60 or 75
ASTM8 inch	203 (8 inch)	No.4～No.400 (ASTM)	4.75mm～0.038mm	stainless steel/brass	ASTM stainless steel mesh	50.8
ISO200 type	200	ISO5μm～4mm	4mm～0.005mm	stainless steel	ISO stainless steel woven mesh	50 or 60

What is the main function of the powder test sieve?

The powder test sieve is a core tool for particle size analysis and classification of powder materials. It uses the aperture difference of different mesh screens (such as 200 mesh screen aperture 75μm) to separate the mixed powder into different levels according to particle size, such as sieving calcium carbonate powder into coarse powder (>150 mesh), fine powder (150-325 mesh), and ultrafine powder (>325 mesh).

In addition, the powder test sieve can also screen out large particle impurities in the powder (such as crushed stones in ore powder, straw debris in grain powder), or remove excessively fine dust (such as ultrafine particle agglomerates in paint pigments).

What are the disadvantages of powder test sieves?

For ultrafine powders (<45μm) or highly viscous, hygroscopic materials (such as milk powder, carbon black, talcum powder, etc.), the screen is easily blocked, resulting in reduced screening efficiency or even failure to pass through the screen. Especially under high mesh screen, the speed of fine powder passing through the screen is slow, and it takes a long time to obtain effective screening results; if the screening time is not properly controlled, false screening is likely to occur, affecting the accuracy of the data.

The powder test sieve is designed for small sample quantities (such as tens of grams to hundreds of grams), which is not suitable for continuous processing of large batches of materials and cannot meet the large production capacity requirements of industrial production.

Applicable materials and recommended mesh range of powder test sieve

Powder type	Common material name	Recommended mesh range (Mesh)	Corresponding particle size (μm)
Metal powder	Iron powder, copper powder, tungsten powder, nickel powder	100~400 mesh	150~38μm
Drug and auxiliary powder	Starch, glucose powder, vitamin powder	80~300 mesh	180~48μm
Food powder	Milk powder, coffee powder, flour, spice powder	40~200 mesh	420~75μm
Chemical raw material powder	Calcium carbonate, barium sulfate, talcum powder, graphite powder	100~325 mesh	1 50~45μm
Battery material powder	graphite powder, lithium iron phosphate, lithium manganese oxide	200~500 mesh	75~25μm
Ceramic/pigment powder	ceramic powder, alumina, titanium dioxide, carbon black	200~400 mesh	75~38μm
Abrasive/mineral powder	corundum, corundum powder, silicon carbide	60~300 mesh	250~48μm
Plastic powder	PVC powder, polyethylene powder, TPU powder	40~200 mesh	420~75μm

What is the application of powder test sieve

In pharmaceutical companies, powder test sieves are used for particle size detection of raw materials and excipients. The difference in particle size will directly affect the dissolution rate of the drug and the quality of tableting. For example, a tablet manufacturer will use a standard test sieve of 200 mesh to 300 mesh to detect whether the raw material meets the particle size uniformity requirements to ensure that the content of each tablet is consistent and there is no hard spot in the tablet. In metallurgical powder pressing or 3D printing processes, when companies produce metal materials such as iron powder, copper powder, and aluminum powder, they will use a powder test sieve of 100~325 mesh to grade the finished powder and remove overly coarse or overly fine particles.

Food powders such as milk powder, cocoa powder, and seasonings have extremely high requirements for taste and solubility. Food factories often use sieves of 80~200 mesh to regularly check whether the powder is agglomerated or the particle size is deviated to prevent moisture absorption or process problems from affecting the dissolution rate and sensory quality. New material powders such as graphite powder and lithium iron phosphate are widely used in batteries and high-performance materials, and their particle size distribution directly affects the conductivity or reaction efficiency of the material. The powder test sieve is used to analyze the particle size consistency of different batches of raw materials, and a sieve of 300~500 mesh is often used for fine grading to optimize coating and electrode processing.

What are the test results of the powder test sieve?

The test results of the powder test sieve are mainly based on the particle size distribution and mesh number of the sieved material, which is used to evaluate whether the particle size of the powder (such as quartz powder, mineral powder, etc.) meets the process requirements.

The test sieve usually uses a standard sieve with a mesh range of 10 mesh (2mm) to 400 mesh (0.038mm), and each layer of the sieve corresponds to a specific aperture.

During the test, the powder sample is placed on the top of a multi-layer test sieve (generally 2-8 layers), and the material is layered according to the particle size through a vibration device, and the fine particles pass through the sieve, while the larger particles remain on the sieve surface.

The test results are expressed as the weight percentage of the sample retained on each layer of the sieve. For example, after 50g of quartz powder sample is sieved through 100 mesh, 200 mesh, and 325 mesh, the 100 mesh sieve accounts for 10% (5g), the 200 mesh accounts for 30% (15g), the 325 mesh accounts for 50% (25g), and the sieve bottom accounts for 10% (5g), indicating that the particle size is mainly concentrated in the range of 0.075-0.038mm.

The results need to be compared with the process standards to determine whether the target particle size distribution is met (such as 80% passing 200 mesh).

 

What is the principle of powder test sieve?

The core principle of powder test sieve is to use mechanical vibration and precise sieve mesh size to classify powder samples. This technology aims to separate mixed powder samples into several components with narrower particle size ranges according to particle size, so as to determine its particle size distribution. Its basic workflow is: the powder sample to be analyzed is placed on the top layer of a set of stacked test sieves. This set of sieves usually consists of multiple layers of sieves, with the aperture of each layer decreasing from top to bottom, and a receiving tray at the bottom. After the equipment is started, the sieve machine vibrates. This vibration is not a simple up and down movement, but a composite type, often a three-dimensional vibration (including horizontal, vertical and rotational movement), or with additional slapping and shaking movements. The role of vibration is to provide enough energy for the powder particles to jump, roll and change direction on the sieve surface. When the particles encounter the sieve holes, if their size is smaller than the sieve holes, they will pass through the sieve holes and fall to the next sieve layer under the combined influence of gravity, vibration and interaction between particles. If the particle size is larger than the sieve hole, it will be intercepted by the sieve layer. This process is carried out simultaneously on each layer of the sieve. The longer sieving time also ensures that fine particles have enough opportunities to pass through the corresponding sieve holes, avoiding premature stopping of vibration and causing fine powder to be retained on the coarse sieve, thereby affecting the accuracy of the analysis. After the preset sieving time, stop the vibration, collect and weigh the materials intercepted on each layer of the sieve and the fine particles in the receiving tray. By calculating the percentage of the mass of each layer of material to the total mass of the original sample, the particle size distribution data of the powder sample can be obtained.

What are the advantages of Powder test sieve?

Powder test sieve plays an important role in powder particle size analysis. Its advantages are mainly reflected in accurate particle size analysis, relatively simple operation, traceability of results, wide adaptability, etc. The following is an introduction to its advantages:

Providing accurate particle size distribution data: This is the core advantage of Powder test sieve. Through the step-by-step classification of multiple layers of precision sieves, it can accurately separate complex powder samples into different particle size components. This meticulous classification capability allows the operator to obtain a detailed particle size cumulative distribution curve and the percentage content of each particle size segment.

Relatively simple and popular operation: Compared with some more complex particle size analyzers (such as laser particle size analyzers), the operation of Powder test sieve is relatively intuitive and easy to master. The device itself has a relatively simple structure and has a wide range of applications in many laboratories and production sites. This makes it a practical and popular particle size analysis tool, especially suitable for daily quality inspection and routine research and development work.

The results are traceable and standardized: Under the premise of complying with standard operating procedures, the sieving results obtained by different laboratories using the same or standard equipment and methods are highly comparable and traceable. This standardization is essential for cross-regional and cross-departmental quality control and product specification formulation, ensuring data consistency and reliability.

Able to handle various types of powders: Whether it is dry, non-sticky powder, or powder with a certain degree of stickiness and easy to agglomerate, or even some slightly abrasive materials, Powder test sieve can perform effective particle size analysis by selecting the appropriate vibration mode, sieving time and sieve material. For example, for powders that are easy to agglomerate, a slapping or shocking vibration mode can be used, or even combined with ultrasonic assistance to ensure that the particles are fully dispersed and pass through the sieve holes.

Intuitive physical separation process: Powder test sieve directly separates particles by physical methods, which makes the analysis process and results very intuitive. The operator can directly observe the state of the material on different sieves and have a more direct understanding of the macroscopic characteristics of the powder. This physical separation characteristic also makes its results less susceptible to complex influences such as the refractive index of the medium and irregular particle shape.

The powder test sieve is a standardized tool for measuring and analyzing the particle size distribution of powder and granular materials. It consists of a series of sieves with precise mesh sizes, which are usually stacked in order from large to small. It is crucial to choose the right mesh size, which depends on the characteristics of the powder to be tested. By placing the powder sample on the sieve and vibrating it mechanically, particles of different sizes will pass through the corresponding sieve holes in turn, thereby achieving accurate separation and quantification of the powder particle size composition.