Myself and @Psy were going to make a game that would simulate the reality of different processes used in the real world, sadly the game didn't come into fruition but the documentation of the process did.
In the future I will go into the processing of ores into ingots and alloys (metallurgy), so I felt explaining crushers would be a good first step.
Crushers is used to crush larger materials into smaller materials by using mechanical power, this can be used in ore processing or recycling.
Wikipedia
Cone Crushers
The materials enter from the top of the machine, it then falls down to the mantle where it will begin to be crushed by walls. The mantle that the material falls on is usually stationary and the concave(walls) is eccentrically rotated, meaning it doesn't stay centered but this can be reversed in some versions. The mantle is coated with a wear-resisting coating and the concave is usually phosphate coated with manganese for increased lubricity and corrosion-resistance.
A benefit of the cone crusher is that both the mantle and the concave is relatively inexpensive and quick to replace compared to other crushers.
Cone Crusher's are regarded as being some of the most efficient ways of crushing rocks and with the low training and operator supervising required they make for a great addition to a quarry.
Newer and more advanced Cone Crushers are able to tell when something like metal is lodged between the mantle and the concave walls. When this happens the bowl will be lifted up to allow the material to fall down and with the extra room for the lodged piece, it will fall down with the material. The bowl then lowers and the crushing process starts again.
If you want to see a sweet 3D animation video of a cone crusher in action, I would give Crush Force video a watch.
Jaw Crushers
As with Cone Crusher's materials enter from the top, then falls down on the fixed jaw and is crushed by the moveable 
jaw with an eccentric flywheel. Shown in the animation is a dodge jaw crusher it just means the swing jaw it fixed the bottom, a Blake crusher is fixed at the top. Jaw crushers have a tendency to stall or break themselves when a too large or hard object is fed to it. The operator has to pay close attention to what is fed to the jaw crusher as to not break it.
Jaw crushers are by far the simplest machine to build but they lack efficiency both when it comes to time and power, but they are quite cheap to make up for it.
Disclaimer: I will not go super into depth about the history and the inner-workings of crushers, I will try and explain the concepts of crushers solely.In the future I will go into the processing of ores into ingots and alloys (metallurgy), so I felt explaining crushers would be a good first step.
Crushers is used to crush larger materials into smaller materials by using mechanical power, this can be used in ore processing or recycling.
| Type | Hardness | Abrasion limit | Moisture content | Reduction ratio | Main use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaw crushers | Soft to very hard | No limit | Dry to slightly wet, not sticky | 3/1 to 5/1 | Heavy mining, quarried materials, sand & gravel, recycling |
| Gyratory crushers | Soft to very hard | Abrasive | Dry to slightly wet, not sticky | 4/1 to 7/1 | Heavy mining, quarried materials |
| Cone crushers | Medium hard to very hard | Abrasive | Dry or wet, not sticky | 3/1 to 5/1 | Quarried materials, sand & gravel |
| Compound crusher | Medium hard to very hard | Abrasive | Dry or wet, not sticky | 3/1 to 5/1 | Mine, building materials |
| Horizontal shaft impactors | Soft to medium hard | Slightly abrasive | Dry or wet, not sticky | 10/1 to 25/1 | Quarried materials, sand & gravel, recycling |
| Vertical shaft impactors (shoe and anvil) | Medium hard to very hard | Slightly abrasive | Dry or wet, not sticky | 6/1 to 8/1 | Sand & gravel, recycling |
| Vertical shaft impactors (autogenous) | Soft to very hard | No limit | Dry or wet, not sticky | 2/1 to 5/1 | Quarried materials, sand & gravel |
| Mineral sizers | Hard to soft | Abrasive | Dry or wet and sticky | 2/1 to 5/1 | Heavy mining |
| Crusher buckets | Soft to very hard | No limit | Dry or wet and sticky | 3/1 to 5/1 | Heavy mining, quarried materials, sand & gravel, recycling |
Cone Crushers
A benefit of the cone crusher is that both the mantle and the concave is relatively inexpensive and quick to replace compared to other crushers.
Cone Crusher's are regarded as being some of the most efficient ways of crushing rocks and with the low training and operator supervising required they make for a great addition to a quarry.
Newer and more advanced Cone Crushers are able to tell when something like metal is lodged between the mantle and the concave walls. When this happens the bowl will be lifted up to allow the material to fall down and with the extra room for the lodged piece, it will fall down with the material. The bowl then lowers and the crushing process starts again.If you want to see a sweet 3D animation video of a cone crusher in action, I would give Crush Force video a watch.
Jaw Crushers
jaw with an eccentric flywheel. Shown in the animation is a dodge jaw crusher it just means the swing jaw it fixed the bottom, a Blake crusher is fixed at the top. Jaw crushers have a tendency to stall or break themselves when a too large or hard object is fed to it. The operator has to pay close attention to what is fed to the jaw crusher as to not break it. Jaw crushers are by far the simplest machine to build but they lack efficiency both when it comes to time and power, but they are quite cheap to make up for it.
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