The size of raw materials is often significantly larger than their end-products. A good example is iron ore. Only a few hundred kilos of usable iron is obtained after processing tonnes of iron ore. Apart from mining, other industries where the size of raw material needs to be reduced to produce something worth selling include mineral and aggregate processing, recycling, construction and certain other material based plants. After mining, harvesting and collection, this raw material is disintegrated into much smaller aggregates to create an end-product.

It is here that the role of crushing equipment becomes important. In any material handling facility, crushers play a pivotal role. Crushing is either the first or second process that raw materials are subjected to upon arrival.

Crushing Equipment – What is it?

The most rudimentary description of crushing equipment is a machine that breaks down larger materials into smaller and more usable sizes. Crushing machinery is heavy and generally part of a larger material handling facility.

A crusher employs large amounts of force delivered through jaws or heavy plates on the materials fed to it for crushing. This force is strong enough to cause the materials to break or disintegrate into smaller particles. While a rock crusher can be portable and small, most crushers are hefty and constitute a larger full circuit system that processes raw materials.

Among the machines comprising such a system are crushers, screening machines and conveyors. Mineral processing plants or rock quarries typically use this type of full-circuit system to convert raw unprocessed materials into products that can actually sell in the market.

The process begins with raw materials fed into a crusher via conveyor belts. Depending upon the end-product that needs to be manufactured, more than one type of crusher can be deployed within the same circuit. The eventual aim is to reduce raw materials to a size that is manageable at the screening stage. This makes crushing equipment an invaluable component of the production process.

Types of Crushing Equipment

Crushing different types of materials into different sizes requires different types of crushing machines. Each of these crusher types plays a different role and is vital in its own right. These crusher types include,

  • Cone Crushers
  • Split Feed Crushers
  • Jaw Crushers
  • Gyratory Crushers
  • Glass Crushers
  • Stone Crushers
  • Horizontal and Vertical Impactors

While the working principle is different for each of these crusher types, they do share a lot of similarities, which is why you have many manufacturers producing all types of crushers. For instance, cone crusher manufacturers in India also tend to make jaw and gyratory crushers.

That said, each crusher has a very specific use case. However, there are certain industries that need multiple types of crushers at different stages of the product line.

Where is Crushing Equipment Used?

Although different materials need different types of crushers, the working principle across all crusher variants is basically the same. Consider the example of the mining industry, which is arguably the largest user of different crushers.

Mining companies procure raw materials by conducting blasts or harvesting from mines deep under the ground. Turning this raw material into something worth selling involves putting it through a massive material handling circuit. The raw material is transported from the mines to the plant before being passed through crushing equipment. The crushed output is then put through a screening process where the particles are filtered out. Alongside a crushing system, a number of other machines are used to produce end-products like salt used to winterize, gravel used in roads, and sand used in construction, to name a few.

The recycling sector makes extensive use of crushers as well. Usually, they break down waste like empty containers and glass bottles. A special type of crusher is used to break down glass into smaller pieces. These pieces are then melted and remodelled for use as new glass containers. The process is repeated when these glass containers are discarded again after use.

At Shakti Mining, we excel at manufacturing an entire range of crushers. We have decades of expertise in producing top class cone and jaw crushers for a host of industries ranging from mining to construction. You can get in touch with us for a detailed cone crusher price list or jaw crusher price list.