SPECIAL STORY 44 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE April 2022 HAMMER MILL OR ROLLER MILL: Advantages & Disadvantages Hammer mills and roller mills have been at the center of many debates in recent years. Although roller mills often seem to get the better of these debates, both systems have different supporters because both have their own advantages and disadvantages under different conditions. Wayne Cooper, Feed Mill and Machinery Specialist from Anderson Feed Technology, evaluates these two systems and classifies their usage areas. So the topic of the month is hammer mills vs roller mills. Not much of a question for me because I am highly prejudiced about this particular subject. In short, look at hammer mills like this: “Let’s toss a piece of corn up in the air and try to hit it with a hammer and make little pieces.” Yes, you can quote me any time to anyone. The following discussion would be fun. All sarcasm aside, (sorry for that) the hammer mill is a brute force instrument. Yes, you have breaker plates and hammers at high speed. But the essentials are still the same. Hammers hitting corn in the air… Man, that eats up a lot of energy. The other part of the problem is complacency. That hammer mill has been here for 50 years and it’s still running! Why should I replace it? Well, one reason would be your electric bill but we will come back to that. Roller mills: Roller mills are at least a bit more refined. They control the corn kernels and literally squeeze them into smaller particles with a bit of counter revolution movement to help out. The rolls effectively grab the kernels and pull them through, which is not a pretty sight when it is fingers involved instead of corn. So do utilize the lock out/tag system, PLEASE! The rolls are huge and solid metal. If they aren’t operated properly, the maintenance bill goes up in a hurry. Some managers prefer to operate hammer mills simply because they can perform maintenance in house, without outside venders. And they don’t like seeing the bill. Automated controls for roller mills are not cheap but pay for themselves rapidly in time, maintenance, and parts wear. The level of adjustment down to .1 mm and the ability to stay perfectly parallel are impressive. A side benefit is the auto-adjustment for control of micron size as the incoming grain changes. Although you have some large bills when changing rolls, overall your cost to grind grain will be significantly lower when using roller mills. An added benefit is particle sizes that are consistent, mash feed with less dust, and less kilowatts. Those are my reasons for the prejudice towards grinders. Roller Wayne Cooper Feed Mill and Machinery Expert Anderson Feed Technology
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