Which is better, a jaw crusher or a hammer crusher?

Which is better, a jaw crusher or a hammer crusher? Here are 5 differences you need to know:

I. Different Appearance and Working Principles

Those familiar with these two types of equipment can easily distinguish them by their appearance. Their working principles are also very different. A jaw crusher operates on a reciprocating compression principle, where material is crushed by compression within the crushing chamber formed by the moving and fixed jaws. A hammer crusher primarily relies on the impact, shearing, tearing, and mutual collision of materials by rotating hammers, as well as the impact of the liners.

II. Different Materials to be Crushed

Jaw crushers can crush various soft and hard materials with a compressive strength between 300-350 MPa, such as granite, quartz, diabase, river pebbles, and iron ore.

Hammer crushers are mainly used to crush ores with low hardness, generally with a compressive strength below 200 MPa, such as limestone, bluestone, and coal gangue. When crushing hard materials, the hammers wear out rapidly, and replacing a set of hammers can cost thousands of yuan. Ordinary high-manganese steel hammers may need to be replaced every 2-3 days, making the cost too high.

III. Different Discharge Adjustment Methods

Hammer crushers adjust the discharge particle size by changing the bottom screen plate, while jaw crushers offer more adjustment methods, including shim plate adjustment, wedge block adjustment, and hydraulic cylinder adjustment.

IV. Different Production Line Configurations

Generally, jaw crushers produce a higher content of needle-like particles in the discharge, requiring a combination with an impact crusher for shaping. Therefore, a jaw crusher + impact crusher configuration is commonly seen.

Hammer crushers are primarily used as secondary crushers in industrial applications, producing material in a single pass without a secondary crushing and shaping process. Therefore, they are often used alone in small to medium-sized production lines.

V. Different Applications in Sand and Gravel Aggregate Lines

Hammer crushers are rarely used in sand and gravel aggregate production lines. Although the process is simple, the yield is low, they are prone to over-crushing, producing a lot of powdery material. Furthermore, the finished aggregate may develop micro-cracks, resulting in low compressive strength, affecting aggregate quality, sales, and price. Therefore, they are often used as auxiliary sand-making equipment.

Jaw crushers are often used as coarse crushing equipment in aggregate production lines, followed by impact crushers or cone crushers, and then sand making machines (shaping machines) are added for shaping.