Types of crushing machines

Crushers are machines used to reduce the size of rocks, stones and ore. They are often utilized in aggregates production, construction material recycling and in mining operations.

There are four traditional types of crushers in materials engineering. They are known as jaw crushers, gyratory crushers, cone crushers and roll crushers. The first two crushers mentioned are the most common when it comes to mineral processing. Roll crushers are a relatively new type of crusher and they are just starting to become more and more popular in mineral processing.

The main idea behind how jaw crushers work is that there is a hinge plate that moves back and forth with a fixed plate is held up against the prior hinge plate. The beginning of the process has the jaws of the crusher open to receive a rock. The hinge plate, like a big jaw-bone, bites down on the rock and crushes it.

Gyratory crushers have a conical outer wall and a large spindle suspended from a bearing. There is a circular propeller at the bottom of the crusher that oscillates, spins around, really fast and compresses the rocks that enter.

For roll crushers, there are two side by side rolls, one fixed and the other can move a little bit from side to side. The gap between the rollers is what determines the output size of the rocks. Forcing rocks through these gaps produces a large amount of shear stress on them and causes them to break apart.

Cone Crushers are compression-type crushers that are typically found in secondary crushing stages but can be used as the primary crusher in certain applications. They handle medium hard to very hard, abrasive materials that can be dry or wet but not sticky. Cone Crushers are typically found in quarried materials and sand and gravel applications.