Hammer mill A rotor is attached with swinging or stationary hammer heads, which rotate at a high speed to force the ingredients against a circular screen or a solid serrated section, resulting in crushing of material inside a hardened casing (Figure 2.1). The crushed materials are further crushed until they reach the size of the aperture of a hard metal sieve at the outlet. These mills can handle both brittle and fibrous dry materials. Hammer mills can grind ingredients up to a maximum size of 75 mm, while larger pieces above 75 mm require a pre-crusher for initial size reduction.
Two types of arrangement exist in the hammer mill; the common one is a horizontal drive shaft, which suspends vertical hammers to crush any friable and fibrous dry materials containing less fat. The other one is the vertical hammer mill where the drive shaft is positioned vertically while screens and hammers are positioned horizontally. Materials successfully reach the screen hole size and are carried by the gravity force outside the mill and then by air or conveyor to storage. Bigger particles, which still escape the size reduction process, are allowed to drop through the mill and may be recycled for size reduction. This facilitates the separation of foreign materials, such as metal and stones, which can cause screen damage.