The core working principle of a stirrer is to drive the stirring components to rotate through a power device, applying mechanical forces such as shear, convection, and diffusion to the materials inside the container, thereby achieving material mixing, dispersion, homogenization, or dissolution.
The working process mainly relies on the collaborative action of the power system, transmission system, and execution components, which can be broken down into three core links.
1. Power input: Provides rotational energy
The power source of a mixer is usually an electric motor, which converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.
The type of motor is selected according to the mixing requirements, commonly including AC asynchronous motors, DC motors, etc.
Some small mixers (such as handheld models) will control the output speed through reducers or speed controllers to adapt to the mixing needs of different materials, such as low-speed mixing for batter and high-speed mixing for juice.
2. Power transmission: Transfer energy to the mixing components
The rotational power generated by the motor is transmitted to the mixing shaft and mixing head through the transmission mechanism.
There are two common transmission methods: one is direct transmission, where the motor shaft is directly connected to the mixing shaft through a coupling, suitable for high-speed scenarios; The second is indirect transmission, which reduces the speed through gears, belts, or worm gears before connecting to the mixing shaft, suitable for low-speed mixing that requires high torque (such as mixing dough).
During the transmission process, some mixers will incorporate bearing structures to reduce friction during the rotation of the mixing shaft and ensure stable operation.
3. Material function: Changing the state of materials through mechanical force
Rotating stirring components (such as impellers and blades) come into contact with materials and achieve stirring effects through different mechanical forces. There are three core ways of action:
Shear force: When the stirring component rotates at high speed, relative motion occurs between its edge and the material, cutting or crushing the material. It is suitable for mixing sauces and crushing ingredients (such as stirring nuts with a blender).
Convection effect: The stirring component pushes the material to form a circulating flow (rolling up and down, circular motion), allowing the materials at different positions in the container to fully exchange and avoid uneven local mixing. This is commonly seen in mixing batter and mixed liquids.
Diffusion effect: During shearing and convection, material molecules or particles will diffuse due to movement, further promoting the fusion of different components, such as dissolved sugars and mixed powder seasonings.