Crushing has its Goldilocks problem – manufactured fines or MF for short.

When it comes to M.F., it seems that everyone has either too much or too little, but never the right amount. I intend to lay out practical ways to increase MF in this post.

Around our offices at ELRUS we often share and discuss and reminisce about the state of the industry, people we’ve known in the business, the successful and those that weren’t. We started to notice some themes in our observations that we think are important to share and discuss.

Many operators focus on purchase price as the deciding factor on choosing whom to purchase replacement parts and consumables from. This is especially true in tough economic times when margins are thin. 

Every year workers suffer injuries and fatalities working on or near the equipment on mining and aggregate sites.

The machine central to almost every crushing spread is the cone crusher and there are two basic families of cone crushers; top adjusting bearing cones and bottom adjusting bushing cones. For operators who are considering the purchase of a cone, it is important to understand differences between the two types – especially, production, parts and maintenance implications.

The crushing business requires heavy duty equipment which has been designed to take a lot of punishment. For most operators, replacing wear parts is a significant ongoing expense necessary to keep equipment in service. Finding a way to reduce the cost of wear on equipment is a highly desirable goal to increase their profitability.

In the crushing business, having the right equipment is crucial to ensuring you are maximizing profit and minimizing costs. For crushing operators who work in a pit context, pea-sized natural rounds and fines are inevitable and must be eliminated to meet aggregate specifications for road and concrete applications.

There is no such thing as bad weather, however there is such a thing as inappropriate clothing. Crushing in the winter is tougher but doesn’t have to be miserable with some planning and solid thinking.

Here are a few tips for getting your spread ready for winter crushing:

Crushing is a dangerous business. Every year there are serious accidents on the job site and some are fatal. Nearly all could have been avoided with better safe work practices. Just this past June, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) issued a Serious Accident Alert after a worker was trying to unplug a portable crusher. He attempted to turn the crusher rotor using a pry bar and his foot got caught in the moving part.

Having the right crushing and screening equipment to handle your environment, materials, and end products is critical. The wrong equipment will cost you a lot of money and time so understanding the relative advantages and disadvantages of  equipment is key to making the best decision for your business.