Bibi, live and in colour

We can’t really answer this question seriously of course, but our four Instagram stars would probably have to be considering a new business model – and their world would definitely be a less colourful one. And not just their world; because if it wasn’t for Kuhn Special Steel, smartphones would only display black-and-white images (which would make Instagram a little monotonous in the long run). How come?

We make the world more colourful

Not a lot of people know this, but LCD and plasma screens make use of coloured pastes. These pastes may be mixed using what are known as ball agitator mills. These devices use balls to break down and disperse suspended solids, which are then pushed into grinders by means of impact and cutting force. The list of items that Kuhn Special Steel supplies for these ball agitator mills includes, along with other things, inner containers and rotor/stator bowls, which help the machine to crush colour pigments down into nano-sized particles. But it is not just during the crushing process that pigment manufacturers rely on our centrifugal castings and cutting technology; they also use our expertise when it comes to the careful mixing of colours.

This involves the use of rollers and agitators made of stainless steel to blend the colour pigments together with solvents and binding agents to produce a medium-to-high-viscosity paste.

High flow capacity under stress, plus a long service life

The components of crushers, rollers and mixers are subject to considerable physical stress and large amounts of chemical corrosion. Ball agitator mills therefore need to offer high flow capacity when under stress. The highly wear-resistant centrifugal castings used to make these components need to be able to withstand strong pressing forces over long periods, along with highly abrasive products that tend to grind and wear down whatever they come into contact with.

Thanks to the high material quality of our stainless steel products, performance and yields can both be increased. This combination of high productivity and maximum service life results in impressive levels of efficiency. It also minimises the cost of manufacturing the pigments concerned, which has a corresponding knock-on effect on the price of smartphones and display screens.

But the biggest benefit of all is of course the fact that we can watch video clips, films and series and even – if we really want to – experience the colourful world of Bibi, Cathy and company.

* Four so-called “influencers”, i.e. people who use social media such as Instagram and YouTube to promote themselves (and also their own and other people’s products). Most of their “followers” are teenagers and young adults seeking to take part in the lives of their influencers. Lisa and Lena, for example, have more than 14 million followers.

Photos: Kuhn Edelstahl; © oneinchpunch – stock.adobe.com