Laboratory mills are commonly used to prepare samples for analysis. They work by reducing the particle size (comminution) of a variety of materials, including wet, dry, hard, soft, elastic, brittle, and fibrous materials. These mills are used in a wide range of scientific fields, such as chemistry, pharmaceuticals, food analysis, materials testing, and life science.

There are various types of mills and grinders that are available for achieving coarse, mid-range, and fine results, all the way down to the nano range (<0.1 µm). Disk, hammer, mortar, planetary ball, rotor, and cutting mills are some of the most common types of mills used in laboratories.

Cryogenic mills, or freezer mills, are a specialized type of mill that freezes materials prior to reducing their particle size. This technique is useful for handling materials that are difficult to grind at room temperature, such as plastics or rubber. Freezing the material makes it more brittle, and therefore easier to grind to the desired particle size.