Recently, the Mining Machinery Plant's 20 mm-diameter Ball Rolling Production Line was completed and put into operation. This project basically realizes the automation of the production line, reaches the domestic advanced level and marks an important new step taken by the Mining Machinery Plant along the road of focused industry and products.

The 20 mm-diameter Ball Rolling Production Line is an experimental key research project which aims to meet the increasing demand for small-sized steel balls while promoting the independent development of the Mining Machinery Plant, with a focus on satisfying the demand for small-sized steel balls to serve mineral processing in Macheng. At present, the domestic 20 mm-diameter steel ball is in the experimental advancement stage with various theories and materials, and the steel ball molding technology, heat treatment technology and automatic control technology are all in their initial stages, so a complete production process has not yet been formed. Compared with the production technology of steel balls with a diameter of 50 mm, 20 mm-diameter steel balls have certain restrictive factors such as relatively low production efficiency, poor stability of production process, uneven materials and processes, etc. The Mining Machinery Plant has systematically designed the production line; adopted an IGBT medium-frequency power supply to realize pulse frequency modulation, thereby saving 10–20% of electric energy compared with the conventional medium-frequency power supply; designed and manufactured a double spiral rolling mill system to increase production efficiency by 50%; and conducted research on the use of quenching liquid to realize the precise control of the quenching process. To date, the trial production of steel balls with diameters of 20 mm and 25 mm and steel sections with diameters of 30 × 35 mm have been completed on the production line.

The Mining Machinery Plant will work closely with universities and research institutes to carry out a series of key research projects on materials, processes and technologies, fully master the core technology of rolling 20 mm-diameter steel balls, manufacture steel balls with a high performance-price ratio, consolidate the production foundation of services for Macheng, seize the social market of small-sized steel balls and create new economic growth points.