A crusher is a heavy-duty industrial machine designed to reduce large, hard materials such as rock, stone, mineral ores, and construction debris into smaller, uniform, and usable aggregates. It plays a vital role in construction, infrastructure, mining, and recycling sectors.

The crusher's primary function relies on mechanical force—compression, impact, or shear—to break down oversized materials. The process begins with raw material entering a feeder hopper. The crusher unit—jaw, cone, or impact crusher—then fractures the material. The crushed output passes through a screening system, where it’s separated by size. Conveyors transport the sorted aggregates to storage areas or directly to usage sites.

Crushers deliver essential aggregates for road, bridge, and tunnel sub-base layers. They supply raw material for concrete batching plants, hard fill for dams and infrastructure foundations, preparatory crushing for mining operations, and process demolition waste in recycling facilities.

2. What is a mobile crusher?

A mobile crusher is a portable crushing and screening plant mounted on tracks or wheels that brings crushing capability directly to the job site. It eliminates the need for fixed installations and enables rapid deployment.

The material handling process begins when excavators or loaders feed the crusher’s hopper. Primary crushing is performed by jaw or impact crushers. The crushed output is screened to separate size fractions. Conveyors then stockpile the final products on-site. Mobile crushers are predominantly used in road construction, bridge projects, site demolition, recycling of concrete and asphalt, quarry infill operations, remote or mountainous sites with limited accessibility.

3. What is a stationary crusher?

A stationary crusher is a permanently installed, high-capacity plant built for continuous operation. Typically found in large quarries, mine sites, and industrial complexes, it’s engineered for large-scale production.

It operates by receiving material delivered by trucks. The process includes primary, secondary, and potentially tertiary crushing stages. Screens classify material by size. Conveyor networks distribute the finished product to stockpiles. Stationary crushers are essential components in cement plants, steel industry raw material processing, highway base construction, and long-term mining operations.

4. Differences between mobile and stationary crushers

The main distinction lies in mobility, installation time, and scale. Mobile crushers offer fast deployment, flexibility, and lower upfront investment but incur higher operating costs and reduced capacity. Stationary crushers require extensive foundation work, infrastructure installation, and longer setup period but provide higher throughput, efficiency, and lower cost per ton over extended operation periods.

5. What is a mobile crushing and screening plant?

A mobile crushing and screening plant integrates crushing and multi-stage screening into a single portable unit. It crushes and classifies material on-site, sorting it into predefined size categories.

The process begins with loading material into a feeder. Equipment performs primary crushing and sends output to a screening assembly. Differentiated aggregates are conveyor-transferred to dedicated stockpiles. Mobility enables quick redeployment between sites, reducing transport and onsite logistics costs, while delivering high environmental performance due to reduced handling.

Common applications include large-scale construction projects, quarry operations, asphalt and concrete recycling facilities, large infrastructure works, and mining exploration in difficult terrain. These units accelerate production cycles and ensure operational adaptability.