Did you know about 80 percent of the construction industry’s quarried stone and earth raw materials are used? Much of the raw materials extracted include stone, gravel, and sand, typically mined using drilling and blasting equipment. But, of course, there’s a ton more processing work to be done before these materials can be used in construction projects. If you do this work, you’ll need to rely on some heavy-duty material-handling equipment to get it done.

1. Crushers

One of the first steps in processing rock and ore is to crush it into smaller, more manageable pieces. Typically, the process is done in multiple stages and with screeners to make the pieces smaller and smaller to meet the required size specifications. There are several types of crushers, each used at either different points in the process or for specific applications. For example, jaw crushers designed to handle more significant pieces of material are generally the first type used. Secondary impact crushers further pulverize rock into smaller, more uniformly sized pieces. They also produce more dust than jaw crushers used as sand. Lastly, tertiary crushers reduce material to very fine particles.

2. Screeners

Screeners are typically used in conjunction with crushers to separate different sizes of materials and various impurities after crushing. Like the crushing process, it may need to be performed multiple times to obtain desired results. There are two categories of screening. With dry screening, raw material is fed into the material handling machine and moved over vibrating screens to separate unwanted materials. Wet screening involves spray nozzles and water to accomplish the same task.

3. Conveyors

As you can imagine, moving and stockpiling raw bulk materials in the construction industry is heavy work. Conveyors are designed to efficiently move, discharge, and create conical stockpiles of various products. They can also be used for loading purposes. Conveyors are typically portable and can be moved and integrated to work with stationary crushing and screening operations.

Like the crushers and screeners described above, there are many different types of conveyors, and it’s essential to have a solid understanding of which piece of equipment would best suit your application, especially if you plan on purchasing. An established, knowledgeable heavy equipment provider that provides renting, leasing, and buying options for just this type of equipment should provide you with sound guidance and information.

4. Shredders

Unlike typical office paper shredders, industrial shredders are significantly larger and capable of reducing even the largest, bulkiest items to— you guessed it, shreds! While only some raw material extraction projects may require a shredder, one may become necessary in certain instances. There are many types of industrial shredders, however, so these heavy-duty pieces of equipment tend to be named for the items they are specifically designed to shred, such as metal, tires, or wood. So, it’s best to keep that in mind when renting, leasing, or buying one for your application.

Published by: Holy Minoza