During the grinding process of a ball mill, there are many variable parameters such as ball mill speed, specifications, and media filling rate, which make the motion state of the material inside the mill complex and diverse. When the steel balls perform a cascading motion, there is significant resistance during their upward movement. The grinding effect on materials mainly comes from the grinding action between the steel balls and the liners, and between the steel balls themselves. Through this action, the material is ground and pulverized. When the steel balls rise to a certain extent, they will perform a cascading motion. During this process, the material is not affected by any force, so it will not be ground or crushed. However, when the steel balls fall to the bottom of the ball charge, they will violently impact the bottom liner, generating a large impact force. This impact force is used to crush the material. Therefore, when steel balls perform a cascading motion, the grinding and crushing effect is mainly impact crushing, supplemented by grinding. This method produces a large impact force and relatively high crushing efficiency. 

　　When the steel balls perform a cataracting motion, the material is pulverized by the mutual friction forces generated during the upward and downward rolling along the ball charge cylinder wall. Mineral particles are further ground by the friction between the ball charges. During the rolling of steel balls from top to bottom, a large impact force is also generated, and mineral particles are crushed by this huge impact. In the cataracting motion, the grinding and crushing effect of steel balls on materials is mainly grinding, supplemented by impact. In a ball mill, whether the steel balls perform cataracting or cascading motion, or a mixed motion of both, the energy state of the moving ball mill steel balls changes. Steel balls at the bottom of the cylinder have zero potential energy relative to the cylinder bottom, and zero kinetic energy. As the steel balls are lifted by the liner plates, their potential energy gradually increases, and they gain kinetic energy. When moving to the highest point, the ball mill steel balls possess both potential and kinetic energy. When the steel balls fall from the highest point and contact the ore, all energy is converted into the kinetic energy of the steel balls striking the ore, and finally into the deformation, crack, and expansion energy of the ore, as well as the surface energy of the crushed material. When the steel balls reach the bottom of the cylinder, one motion cycle ends. 

　　To enable the grinding media to obtain the highest possible energy from the outside, and for the mill to absorb as much of it as reasonably possible, allowing the steel balls to gain more kinetic energy to crush the material, it is necessary to make the grinding media in the ball mill perform cascading motion as much as possible.