Mining, aggregate and mineral processing, recycling, and other material handling plants usually need to reduce the size of their raw materials to create something sellable. Once their raw material is mined, harvested, or collected, it needs to be broken down into something closer to the end-product.
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This is where crushing equipment comes in. Crushers are an important part of a full circuit material handling plant. They’re usually the first or second step, after the raw material arrives.
For the first installation of our Equipment 101 series, we’ll take a look at everything you need to know about crushing equipment. Kemper’s experienced team knows what it takes to turn raw material to a profitable product. Read on to learn more about how crushing equipment fits into material handling, and how Kemper can help:
In the simplest terms, crushing equipment is used to reduce the size of material into much smaller pieces. These are heavy pieces of machinery, usually part of a material handling system or plant. A rock crusher uses significant force to impact materials to the point of breaking or separating.
Most crushing equipment is designed with heavy plates or jaws used to apply pressure to whatever material have been fed into the chamber. Crushers can be smaller and portable, but are usually built into a full circuit material handling system. You’ll find equipment like conveyors, crushers, and screening machines at most rock quarry or mineral processing operations. These systems tend to work together to break raw material into marketable products.
Chambers with heavy, durable plates or jaws are the main components of most crushing equipment. After raw material is fed into the crusher, the plates come together to reduce the size. These heavy-duty plates move both up and down, creating enough force and pressure to reduce the size of the material significantly.
Some plants use multiple crushers to reduce the size of their raw materials. Not all crushers can handle large pieces, so a heavy-duty crusher is the first part of the material handling circuit. Jaw crushers can handle really large pieces. They’re used to break those large pieces into something more manageable for the smaller crushers.
If a jaw crusher is necessary, the reduced material is then fed into a finer crusher by a conveyor belt. After the secondary crusher reduces the material even more, it’s moved to a screening machine by another belt. The material needs to be broken into manageable pieces before it reaches the screening equipment, making crushers a vital component of production.
Crushing equipment is one of the very first steps for a variety of material handling plants, productions, and jobs. Each job starts with a different material, calling for a different type of crusher. Most crushers function in a similar fashion, but the end products are used for many different applications. Here are just a few industries that use crushers:
The mining and quarrying industry is one of the largest users of crushing equipment. Raw material is blasted or harvest from deep underground. For these materials to be profitable, they have to go through an extensive material handling system. The material is moved from the mine, fed into a crusher, than screened to separate the particles. Crushing equipment works hand-in-hand with all of the other machines to produce an end-product – like gravel for roads, salt for winterizing, and more.
The recycling industry also uses crushers to break down glass bottles and containers. After the glass is loaded into a special crusher, it’s crushed into raw material. It’s then melted down and repurposed into recycled glass containers, just for the process to being all over again!
Kemper’s team has over 30 years of experience in the material handling industry. Each crusher plays a different role in a job. It’s important to make sure the best crusher is used to create the desired end product. Kemper supplies and installs various types of crushers, including:
Choosing the right crusher is key to running an efficient material processing operation. Whether you're crushing rock, concrete, asphalt, or recycled material, understanding the different types of crushers and the stages of crushing can help you select the right equipment for your job ... and save time and money in the process.
Before we discover all the different types of crushers, we need to know what a crusher is and what it is used for. A crusher is a machine that reduces large rocks into smaller rocks, gravel, or rock dust.
Crushers are mainly used in the mining and construction industries, where they are used to break down very large rocks and boulders into smaller pieces. Crushers are also commonly used for jobs like breaking up asphalt for roadwork or demolition projects. Crusher machines come in a wide variety of sizes and capacities, from small jaw crushers that cost the same as a new truck to extra large cone crushers that cost millions of dollars. With all this choice, you'll want to make sure that the one you choose has the power and capabilities necessary for your specific project. In most cases, having a crusher at your disposal can save a significant amount of time and labor since you won't have to do as much manually crushing materials yourself. This makes them an invaluable asset for anyone who may need to crush materials quickly and efficiently.
The first United States patent for a rock crushing machine was in . Its key technology was the drop hammer concept, found in the well-known stamp mill, which would be repeatedly linked to the golden age of mining. Ten years later, another U.S. patent was issued to an impact crusher. The primitive impact crusher was made up of a wooden box and a cylindrical wooden drum, with iron hammers fastened to it. While both of these patents were granted, neither creator ever marketed their inventions.
Eli Whitney Blake invented, patented, and sold the first actual rock crusher in ; it was known as the Blake Jaw Crusher. Blake’s crusher was so influential that today’s models are still compared to his original designs. This is because the Blake Jaw Crusher integrated a key mechanical principle—the toggle linkage—a concept students of mechanics are familiar with.
In , Philetus W. Gates received a U.S. patent for his device featuring the basic ideas of today’s gyratory crushers. In , Mr. Blake challenged Mr. Gates to crush 9 cubic yards of stone in a contest to see which crusher would finish the job faster. The Gates crusher completed the task 40 minutes sooner!
The Gates’ gyratory crushers were preferred by the mining industry for almost two decades until the turn of the century, circa , when Blake’s jaw crushers saw a resurgence in popularity. The demand for large jaw crushers skyrocketed as the industry began to understand their potential as primary crushers in rock quarries. Through Thomas A. Edison’s research and development, giant machines were innovated and placed around the United States. Smaller-sized jaw crushers were also developed as secondary and tertiary crushers.
Edison’s studies within the field of mining and crushing left a legacy that forever improved how large rocks and materials are reduced.
Crushing is the process of reducing or breaking down larger-sized material into smaller-sized material. There are four basic ways to crush.
Impact: Instant collisions of large objects against one another with material placed between. Both objects can be in motion, or one can be still while the other strikes against it. There are two main types of impact reduction: gravity and dynamic.
Attrition: Rubbing the material between two solid surfaces. This is an appropriate method when reducing less abrasive materials because it consumes less power during the process. Robust materials would not be as efficient.
Shear: Typically combined with other reduction methods, shearing uses a trimming method and is used when a coarse outcome is wanted. This reduction method is often seen in primary crushing.
Compression: A key mechanical element of jaw crushers, compression reduces materials between two surfaces. Great for very hard, abrasive materials that do not fit attrition crushers. Compression is unsuitable for anything tacky or gummy.
Choosing the correct type of crushing method is unique to both the type of material you are breaking down and the desired product. Next, you must decide which type of crusher is best suited for the job. Keeping energy usage and efficiency in mind is always a top consideration. Using the wrong type of crusher can lead to costly delays and consume more power than expected during the process.
Crushing operations are typically divided into stages, each serving a specific purpose:
There are lots of different kinds of crushers, from jaw crushers to impactors and cone crushers. Crushing is a versatile process, and the kind of crusher you need depends on the 'stage' of crushing. The three main stages of crushing are primary, secondary, and tertiary, all of which have their own unique benefits. Let's find out why each of these crushing stages is important.
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As the name suggests, this kind of crushing is the first in the process. Run of Mine (ROM) materials are brought directly from blasting projects and crushed in a primary crusher for the first round of crushing. At this point, the material receives its first reduction in size from its raw state. Primary crushing produces materials ranging from 50" to 20" on average. The two main types of primary crushers are:
Large amounts of material are fed into the “V-shaped” jaw of this crusher and are reduced using compressive force. One side of the V remains stationary while the other side of the V swings against it. The material is forced from the wide opening of the V to the narrowest point of the V, creating a crushing motion. Jaw crushers are large-scale, heavy-duty machinery typically constructed with cast iron and/or steel. Often considered a basic machine, jaw crushers have their place in the industry. They are often used to reduce rock into non-uniformed gravel. To find out more about primary jaw crusher check out our blog.
Run of mine material is transferred into a gyratory crusher’s upper-level hopper. The walls of the gyratory crusher’s hopper are lined with “V-shaped” pieces, the mantle and the concave, like a jaw crusher but shaped like a cone. The ore is discharged through the smaller bottom output hole of the cone. While the cone does not move, an interior crushing movement is created by a revolving shaft on a vertical rod. Continuous action is created, making it faster than the jaw crusher with less power usage. Often smaller and more expensive than a jaw crusher, gyratory crushers are suitable for larger amounts of materials when a more uniform shape is desired.
After materials go through their first round of crushing, they are fed into a secondary crusher to be broken down further. The average input size for a secondary crusher ranges from 13" to 4" during this stage. Secondary crushing is especially important for making graded material that is going on to be used on government projects. For example, crushed material for road base and fill. The main kinds of crushing machines for secondary processing are discussed below.
Cone crushers are one of the main choices for secondary crushing. A cone crusher is a powerful machine that is used in large-scale industries for crushing various types of materials into smaller sizes. It works by applying pressure to the material and squeezing it against a rotating mantle to create compression and force. The crushed material is first broken down at the top of the cone, where they then fall down into a lower part of the cone that is more narrow. At this point, the cone crusher crushes the material again into an even smaller size. This continues until the material is small enough to fall out of the bottom opening. Material from a cone crusher can be used for lots of different projects, including road base construction projects, asphalt pavement resurfacing, or gravel pits for road construction. Cone crushers are suitable for medium-hard and hard materials, like virgin rock from quarries.
A roller crusher reduces material by compressing it between two turning cylinders, parallel to each other. The cylinders are mounted horizontally, with one resting on strong springs and the other framed permanently. Material is then fed between the two. Changing the distance between the rollers allows you to control the desired material output size. Each cylinder is easily adjusted and lined with manganese for maximum long-term wear. Roller crushers typically deliver fine material output and are not suitable for hard or abrasive materials.
One of the most versatile crushers available, hammer mills and impactors can be primary, secondary, and tertiary crushers. Hammer mill crushers use continuous hammer blows to shatter and disintegrate material. They are typically horizontally rotating in an enclosed cylinder casing. The hammers are attached to a disk and swing with centrifugal force against the casing. Material is fed into the top and crushed as it falls through the hole at the bottom. You will find hammer mills being used in industries like agriculture, medicine, energy, and beyond. They provide some of the highest efficiency outputs available, are portable, and can handle almost any material.
Impact crushers have a very similar working principle except instead of the rotating parts hitting the material like a hammer, they instead throw the material against an impact plate, which breaks it down. They also come in horizontal or vertical shaft configurations depending on the desired output. For more information on impact crushers check out this blog. Check out impact crushers for sale at Machinery Partner.
Sometimes you might need to continue to reduce the size of your crushed material, and a tertiary reduction may be desired (sometimes even further). Particle sizes range from 5" to 1" during this final stage. Tertiary crushing is highly valuable in the mineral processing industry. The degree to which a material is reduced largely depends on how fine the material’s final size should be. More stages of crushing = smaller-sized products. For tertiary crushing, you will most likely need a smaller impactor or cone crusher.
Screening and multiple crushing sequences can also limit material waste. Some common tools used during the process are:
Screening Equipment: If a piece of material is too large for the crushing machine to effectively handle, it must be removed. Screening equipment removes any material that will slow the production process. It sorts and classifies materials by size using a series of screens with different-sized openings. These openings, or grids, allow small rocks to move along and large rocks to be excluded. If the material does not fit through the openings, it will be excluded from the next phase of the reduction process. Then, it is either sent back into the crushing process for further size reduction or removed completely from production. Screening equipment is crucial to an effective tertiary crushing operation, as large materials can take up needed space and consume valuable energy, creating delays and costing money.
Conveyors: Moving raw materials and reduced materials from one stage of production to the next can be incredibly time-consuming. Modern mining and material handling methods now include extensive conveyor systems that can sometimes cover many miles. There are two basic kinds of conveyors: powered and gravity. Powered conveyors utilize energy from an outside source, whereas gravity conveyors use the material’s weight to propel them.
Gyratory crushers and cone crushers are both types of compression crushers that crush materials by squeezing them between a stationary and a moving piece of manganese-hardened steel. There are however some key differences between cone and gyratory crushers.
Firstly, gyratory crushers are designed for crushing very large materials—normally in the primary crushing stage—while cone crushers are typically used for secondary or tertiary crushing to make smaller, finer products. Secondly, the shape of the crushing head is different. The gyratory crusher has a conical-shaped head that gyrates inside a bowl-shaped outer shell, while the cone crusher has a mantle and a stationary concave ring.
Additionally, gyratory crushers have a higher crushing ratio (meaning that they can crush large material into smaller pieces), a larger feed opening, and a more consistent product size and shape compared to cone crushers. However, cone crushers have a more efficient crushing action for smaller materials but can produce more fines. For more information on crusher reduction ratios, check out our blog.
Yes, different types of crushers produce different shaped products, and this matters depending on what you're using the material for.
Jaw crushers are designed for primary crushing and use a compressive force to break material. They produce more angular, flat, or elongated pieces, which are fine for road base, backfill, or sub-grade layers where shape doesn’t need to be precise.
Impact crushers, on the other hand, use high-speed impact force to break material and tend to produce more uniform, cubical-shaped products. This makes them a better choice when you're creating finished material for concrete mixes, asphalt, or resale, where clean edges and consistency matter.
Choosing between these two often comes down to the final product spec and whether you need shape or just size reduction.
Not sure which crusher fits your job? Talk to our team and get matched with the right machine for your material, volume, and budget.
Watch your business grow with the right equipment for the right job—supplied by Machinery Partner. If you want to get expert advice on the right crusher for your business, get in contact with one of our experts today.
You can also check out our full range of crushing equipment, screening equipment and heavy equipment brands like ARK & more sourced directly from the manufacturer.
Most material processing involves three key stages:
Each type of crusher is designed for a specific job. Jaw crushers are tough and ideal for primary crushing. Impact crushers or cone crushers are better for secondary and tertiary stages where shaping and final sizing matter.
Jaw crushers use compression and produce rough, angular output. They’re best for breaking down large, hard material. Impact crushers use high-speed impact to produce a more uniform, cubical product, making them better for finished material or resale.
Yes, depending on your project. If you only need to break material down for backfill or on-site use, a jaw crusher alone might be enough. But if you need clean, spec material for resale or paving, secondary or tertiary crushing is often required.
If you're trying to sort material into different sizes or remove fines, a screener is essential. It ensures you get the right product for the right application — and helps you hit specs if you're reselling aggregate.
Start by considering your material type, required output size, and production goals. Most setups begin with a jaw crusher for primary reduction. From there, you can add an impact crusher or cone depending on the final product you need.