A hammer mill and a cutter mill are both types of size reduction equipment used in various industries. However, there are some key differences between them.
1. Principle of Operation:
- Hammer Mill: A hammer mill uses a series of hammers to strike and break the material apart. The material is fed into the chamber and the hammers collide with it, repeatedly striking until it is reduced to the desired size and can pass through a screen.
- Cutter Mill: A cutter mill, also known as a screen classifying cutter, shears the material into uniform-sized particles. It uses cutting edges to slice apart the material, achieving particle size reduction. The particles are then classified by passing through screens.
2. Particle Size Reduction:
- Hammer Mill: Hammer mills can use either hard or soft hammers. Hard hammers are blunt and impact the material with a flat surface, leading to greater particle size reduction and wider particle size distribution. Soft hammers, on the other hand, use sharp, knife-like edges to slice apart the material, resulting in less particle size reduction but a narrower particle size distribution.
- Cutter Mill: Cutter mills are designed to produce uniform-sized particles. The cutting edges of the mill slice the material into smaller pieces, resulting in a consistent particle size distribution.
3. Material Friability:
- Hammer Mill: The biggest potential drawback of using a hammer mill is when the material itself is not intrinsically friable, meaning it won't easily crack under the application of force. Intrinsically friable materials usually have microscopic defects like fractures or gaps that act as natural places for cracks to propagate, allowing the material to break apart.
- Cutter Mill: Cutter mills can handle non-friable materials more effectively as the cutting action shears the material into smaller pieces rather than relying solely on impact.
In summary, a hammer mill uses hammers to strike and break the material apart, while a cutter mill uses cutting edges to slice the material into uniform-sized particles. Hammer mills can achieve greater particle size reduction but have a wider particle size distribution. Cutter mills produce more uniform-sized particles and can handle non-friable materials effectively. The choice between the two depends on the specific requirements of the application.
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