The crushing process is required in many different industries. In mineral processing, crushing is the first and most important step, because the size of ores and rocks from the mines must be reduced for further use. The crushing process can be performed in several stages. To perform it most efficiently, you must use appropriate crushing equipment. Different materials require different type of crushing equipment. Depending on the material that needs to be crushed to a manageable size, there are primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary crushers. Primary crushing is usually performed at the mine sites, for both surface and underground operations. Take a look at the most popular crushing equipment:
Primary Crushers:
Gyratory Crusher – The gyratory crusher is a primary crusher, and is one of the most commonly used crushing equipment. It is designed with a long spindle that carries a hard-steel grinding element in conical-shape, and a head positioned in an eccentric sleeve. The spindle rotates from 85 to 150 rev/min, performing the crushing process in a fixed crushing chamber. The shell is made from heavy-steel casting or a pair of welded steel plates, both fitted with reinforced alloyed cast-iron.
Jaw Crusher – Jaw crusher is another popular primary crusher, used to reduce the material size by applying compressive force between two plates. The jaw crusher is consisted of a pair of vertically positioned jaw plates. One plate is fixed and the other is movable. The movable jaw plate can move back and forth, providing great compressive force. The materials are between the jaw plates until their size is reduced enough to pass freely through the gap at the bottom. The speed of this crushing equipment varies from 100 to 350 rev/min.
Secondary Crushers:
Cone Crusher – The secondary crushing equipment includes several crushing machines, one of them is the cone crusher. The cone crusher is very similar to the gyratory crusher in terms of operation, but it has less steepness in the crushing chamber. The main difference is that there isn’t a suspended short spindle in the cone crusher, but a curved universal bearing which is positioned below the cone. When a material enters the cone crushers, it gets squeezed between the bowl liner and the mantle.
Roll Crusher – The roll crusher is a type of crushing equipment that has the simplest working principle. The gap between the rolls can be adjusted depending on the size of the material. The rotating motion of the rolls compress the particles and reduce their size as much as the gap allows. The biggest advantage of the roll crusher is its ability to deliver superior results.