Roller compactors and milling machines are invaluable tools utilized in a number of industries, including the pharmaceutical, food processing, chemical, and even waste management industries. The purpose of these machines is to break down and crush materials into small particles, which allows the material to be used for different applications or more easily disposed of. While both aim to produce similar results, each type of machine has its own set of advantages and drawbacks for every application.
Hammer mills work by introducing repeated impacts via small 'hammers' which break down the material into small particles. They typically produce more finely ground material due to increased impact upon the material compared to roller compactors, which simply crush material in a single pass, but they are less consistent when it comes to particle size. This can be mitigated, however, with the use of screens which can ensure the final product does not exceed a specific size. Some examples of hammer mill application include the production of animal feed, the formulation of pharmaceutical products, and the production of fine chemicals for industrial use. They generally consume more power than roller compactors, but improvements to efficiency continue to make this less and less of a concern. While hammer mills can be made from a number of different materials, stainless steel is arguably one of the best due to its resistance to corrosion, it's poor conductivity, and it's high heat resistance.
Roller compactors provide a similar solution but utilize compression rather than impact force in order to produce its grind. They are in some cases preferred over hammer mills for typically being more energy-efficient and being capable of producing a more consistently sized product. However, they cannot produce as fine of a grind as hammer mills, and due to the size of the rollers and the construction of the compactor, maintenance and replacement costs of worn parts tend to exceed that of hammer mills.
There are a number of different companies that manufacture hammer mills and rolling compactors for many different applications. One such company is the Fitzpatrick Company, which provides a number of different types of hammer mills and rolling compactors aimed at achieving specific results for each individual industry and use case. This company has over 80 years of experience and is part of the IDEX Material Processing Technologies division.
To learn more, contact a supplier that carries products such as the stainless steel Fitzmill.