2026-10-09
Application: Copper Concentrator Primary Crushing
Typical working conditions: the primary crushing workshop of a copper concentrator. The machine is a PE series jaw crusher. Feed is run-of-mine ore at the 600 mm size class. The line runs three shifts, continuously.
Three-shift operation is part of the specification here. The jaw plates see the run-of-mine feed on every shift.
Jaw Plates: The First Part to Wear
Jaw plates are the first part in the primary crushing line, and the first part to wear.
Our jaw plates are high manganese steel alloy castings. Life on soft rock — limestone and medium-hard copper ore — is about 2 years. Life on hard rock — granite and basalt — is about 6 months to 1 year.
The plate is the same in both cases. The rock is the variable.
Selection: Three Factors
Selection comes down to three things: rock hardness, feed size and shift pattern.
A soft rock line on two shifts can schedule one jaw plate change every 24 months. A hard rock line on three shifts should plan for 6–8 months, and check the discharge opening once per shift.
Both intervals are planning numbers. They belong in the maintenance schedule.
Note how the ore is classified: medium-hard copper ore sits with limestone in the soft rock group, not with granite and basalt.
Parts to Look at Together on a Primary Crushing Line
A primary crushing line has to be looked at as a set, not part by part. These are the parts that go together:
- Side liners — protect the frame side walls
- Toggle plate — a sacrificial part; it fails before the frame
- Adjustment seat
- Adjustment wedge
- Adjustment bolts — discharge opening adjustment
- Flywheel
- Springs
- Bearings
- Motor
- V-belts
The jaw plates are the part you plan. The rest are the parts you check at the same time.
Dimensions and Material
Before shipment, we check mounting dimensions against the machine model. We do not guess from the model name.
The material is high manganese steel alloy, cast in our own foundry using the lost foam process.
We check mounting dimensions against the machine model before shipment. We do not guess from the model name.