Crushers can be defined as “a machine which breaks up solids by pressing them”. They are designed to break down large materials into smaller, more manageable rubble turning it into gravel, sand and dust. This type of equipment is best suited to mining operations, aggregates production and construction material recycling. Crushing machines have heavy plates or jaws that are used to apply force to the materials that have been fed into the chamber. Machinery such as conveyors, crushers, and screening machines are often found at most rock quarry or mineral processing sites. Crushers are needed to change the form of waste materials so that they can be disposed of or recycled accordingly.
History of Crushing Machines
The first-ever US patent was published on a rock crushing machine in 1830, it covered a device that incorporated the drop hammer principle. This method was later used in the famous stamp mill, which is linked with the golden age of mining. Another patent was issued in 1840, which consist of a wooden box containing a cylindrical drum of wood on which several iron hammers, were fastened; the expectation was that this drum, when revolved at about 350 RPM, would break down the rock which was fed into the top of the box. It was in 1858 that Eli Whitney Blake patented the first successful mechanical rock breaker and labelled it as the “Blake Jaw Crusher”, all large, heavy-duty jaw crushers that we use today are built around this model.
Types of Crushers
There are a number of options when it comes to crushers however, we have shared below the most common choices:
Gyratory Crusher
Gyratory crushers are compression crushers that are mostly used for heavy mining and quarried materials in exceptionally high tonnage projects. These machines are made up of many components however the most important features are a tall crushing chamber lined with replaceable manganese wear plates, a main shaft with head and mantle, and a spider arm to anchor the top of the main shaft bearing. They are available in both a single cylinder and multiple cylinder model. Gyratory Crushers have an adjustable main shaft positioning system and drive assembly. This type of machine can handle very hard and abrasive materials and they are ideal for dry to slightly wet materials that is not sticky and they provide a reduction ratio of 4:1 to 7:1.
Jaw Crusher
Jaw crushers are the archetypal crusher used for the dismantling of rock and stone; with a quarry jaw crusher, you are able to crush all kinds of materials to various sizes depending on your requirements. Explanatory by name, jaw crushers reduce materials between a fixed and a moving jaw. The moving jaw puts pressure on the material and pushes it against the stationary plate, the rocks then is held between the jaws until the material is small enough to fit through the space at the bottom of the jaws. There are two groups of jaw crushers: single toggle and double toggle which are categorised by their jaw movement mechanism. With the single toggle jaw crusher, an eccentric shaft is on the top of the crusher. The shaft rotation and the toggle plate causes a compressive action. They operate best with dry to slightly wet material that is not sticky.
Cone Crusher
Cone crushers are compression machine that reduces materials by compressing the material between moving and stationary elements. Our used cone crushers are able to be used as primary or secondary crushers and are employed in order to compress the feed material between two pieces of steel, this process reduces the size considerably. They operate best with medium-hard to very hard materials that can be dry or wet material however not sticky and they provide a reduction ratio of 3:1 to 5:1.
Impact Crusher
Impact crushers are versatile crushing machines that can be used at any stage of the crushing process. However, with each different impact crusher, the features and capabilities can vary considerably. There are three different types of primary impact crushers to pick from; horizontal shaft impactors, cage mill pulverisers and vertical shaft impactors, all of which you’ll find here at Omnia Machinery. This machine operates best with slightly abrasive, dry or wet material that is not sticky and provides a reduction ratio of 10:1 to 25:1.
Here at Omnia Machinery, we offer a wide range of quality used quarry equipment such as Jaw Crushers, Cone Crushers, Impact Crushers, Screeners and Shredders. We offer machinery from leading manufacturers such as Sandvik, Kleemann and McCloskey. As with all of our heavy equipment, each machine is thoroughly inspected, tested and serviced before shipment, ensuring you’re supplied with only the best for your project. Browse our quarry machinery here.