Wiley mill refers to a specific group of grinding mills manufactured under the name Thomas Scientific. The term Wiley as it relates to cutting or grinding mills is a registered trademark of Arthur H. Thomas Company. These mills prepare materials for analysis with minimal moisture loss. Well-dried samples are preferred. In the

grinding mill A mill is a device, often a structure, machine or kitchen appliance, that breaks solid materials into smaller pieces by grinding, crushing, or cutting. Such comminution is an important unit operation in many processes. There are many different ty ...

, the material is loaded cut into crude pieces or lumps and loaded into a

hopper Hopper or hoppers may refer to: Places *Hopper, Illinois * Hopper, West Virginia * Hopper, a mountain and valley in the Hunza–Nagar District of Pakistan * Hopper (crater), a crater on Mercury People with the name * Hopper (surname) * Grace H ...

. From the hopper, the material drops by gravity into the path of a set of revolving hard

tool steel Tool steel is any of various carbon steels and alloy steels that are particularly well-suited to be made into tools and tooling, including cutting tools, dies, hand tools, knives, and others. Their suitability comes from their distinctive har ...

blades driven by an

electric motor An electric motor is an Electric machine, electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a Electromagneti ...

. The revolving knives work against stationary knives and the resulting powder is forced through a steel screen. The powdered material then drops into a waiting collection vessel underneath. The Wiley mill is most commonly used in

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and

soil science Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the Earth including soil formation, classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils; and these properties in relation to th ...

laboratories but can be used on a wide variety of materials. The Wiley mill was originally designed for grinding fertilizer materials, animal hair, hoofs and other materials. The hard, tool steel cutting edges on the knives which allows for milling of a wide range of materials, including plastics.

References

Laboratory equipment {{sci-stub