LUMP BREAKER
This uniquely designed lump breaker (cake breaker/flake breaker) improves product flow for a variety of applications while reducing product agglomeration for an all-around easy means of reducing compacted materials.
Easy installation and maintenance, make this a simplistic product for businesses of all sizes and types. At Prater, we construct only the most versatile equipment and our lump breakers are no exception. It can process an extensive array of materials, including chemicals, minerals, salt, sugar, ceramic powders and more.
Design features include easily replaceable rotating and fixed blades, a heavy-duty single-shaft rotor driven by a V-belt, and strategically drilled air purge seals.
QUICK CLEAN LUMP BREAKER
Our engineers have designed and manufactured a Lump Breaker that is easier and safer to clean and maintain than traditional lump breakers.
This lump breaker was designed following the lessons we learned with our Quick-Take-Apart series of Rotary Airlock Valves. It features tool-less access end-plates and a rail system that allows for both the heavy end-plates and the rotor assembly to easily and safely slide out of the unit without any additional handling of the components.
Lump breakers, also referred to as lump crushers or flake breakers, are required particle size reduction equipment for most material handling systems. They operate by introducing agglomerated product through an opening in the top of the unit. The lump breaking happens when the product’s particles that are too large are crushed by the rotating blades as they pass through a set of stationary comb-like blades. The agglomerated product particles continue to be reduced in size until they are small enough to pass through and discharge below the unit.
A common application for our lump breakers is to reduce deliberately compacted materials or natural agglomerations which often occurs during production, storage or shipping.
Key Benefits
Prater Single-Shaft Lump Breakers (also called Flake Breakers and vice versa) provide a simple, durable, and economical means of conditioning materials that have become compacted or lumpy due to storage, transport, or blending. Simultaneous application of gentle impact and shear results in free-flowing materials with uniform size distribution. Many industries require size uniformity when blending, conveying, and packaging their finished products. Prater Lump Breakers provide cost savings, streamlined operating efficiency, and enhanced product quality.
Prater Dual-Shaft Flake Breakers provide the same benefit as Prater Single-Shaft Lump Breakers yet with a lower profile. Equipped with counter-rotating blades, these flake breakers are ideal for conditioning or granulating materials purposely compacted in densification equipment, recycling, or disposal operations.
These precision tools are helpful with a variety of products, including:
- Sugar
- Salt
- Resins
- Pigments
- Pasta
- Nutraceuticals
- Minerals
- Kiln dust
- Hemp
- Filter cakes
- Fertilizers
- Chemicals
- Cereals
- Ceramic powders
Important Features
Important features of Prater Lump Breakers and Flake Breakers include:
- Durable, heavy-duty construction ensuring long service lifespan
- Mild steel or stainless steel models available, depending upon the application
- Easy installation and maintenance
- Easy replacement of internal components
- A wide spectrum of blade designs, tailored for the specific application
- Externally mounted bearings with optional air-purge seals to mitigate contamination
- Customizable screen sizes for any sizing application
- V-belt, cogged belt, or direct drive designs available
- Low-profile design fits in tight spaces, simplifies installation
- Optional wear liners and wear-resistant blades available
- Quick-clean capability for minimizing downtime
- Sanitary construction options as required by the application
- Integrated designs with bag-dump workstations or bulk bag unloading systems available
- Superior de-lumping for optimized product handling
- Heavy-duty dual- or single-shaft models available
Operational Theory
Material is gravity-fed into the top of the unit where rotor blades impact the lumpy or compacted material. Blades intermesh with each other or with stationary blades to ensure sufficient material contact. For harder lumps, an optional screen can be used to extend retention time. Fully de-lumped material exits by gravity discharge through the optional screen. Screens with different openings are easily interchanged to accommodate a variety of material types and to allow for specific output characteristics. Large operating clearances and low operating speed minimizes shear and impact that eliminates dust generation and size reduction of particles.
System Integration
The accompanying schematic illustrates how Prater Lump Breakers and Flake Breakers can be integrated into your total operating system:
We are Here To Help
Let us know if we can serve you. We build custom lump-breaker units, so if there is anything special that you require in sizing equipment of any type, our staff will expedite a solution for you. Similarly, if you already own a Prater Lump Breaker or Flake Breaker and it needs any specific maintenance, please contact us for quick assistance.
Not Sure Which Machine You Need?
Try our Equipment Recommendation Tool: choose a unit of measurement and desired finish size, and we’ll determine which machine to use.
