A configuration sheet is the most useful document in a crushing project, and the one most suppliers never produce. It shows every machine, why it is there, and what it has to do — so a performance discussion later is about settings, not opinions.
Line design is not creative work; it is arithmetic done in the right order. Give us six inputs and the flow sheet largely writes itself. Give us four and we can still start, but the quotation will carry assumptions — and assumptions are what turn into disputes.
| Input | What we need | What it decides |
|---|---|---|
| Material type | Granite, basalt, limestone, river stone, iron ore, C&D waste… | Crusher family, wear strategy, whether a VSI is appropriate |
| Hardness / work index | Compressive strength, or a Bond work index figure, or an ore sample | Capacity calculation, motor power, liner selection |
| Feed gradation | Maximum lump size and, if available, a sieve analysis of the feed | Primary feed opening, scalping arrangement, whether a gyratory is justified |
| Target capacity | Tonnes per hour and operating hours per day | Machine sizes across every stage, screen area |
| Required product sizes | The exact cuts you will sell, plus your market's specification limits | Number of screens, deck count, mesh apertures, tertiary stage choice |
| Site conditions | Power supply and voltage, climate, altitude, water availability, footprint and transport constraints | Drive configuration, tropical package, wet or dry process, layout |
These six also set the assumptions that go on the configuration sheet. If one is missing, we will state the assumption we used rather than quietly filling the gap.
This is the part buyers most often get wrong when they specify a line themselves. Reduction ratio is cheap in the primary and expensive in the tertiary, so the design rule is: take as much reduction as early as the downstream machine can tolerate.
| Stage | Typical reduction ratio | Design note |
|---|---|---|
| Primary (jaw or gyratory) | 3:1 to 6:1 | The cheapest reduction in the plant. Set as coarse as the secondary can accept — do not squeeze the primary to fix a downstream problem |
| Secondary (cone, open circuit) | 3:1 to 4:1 | Where the line's throughput is usually decided. Closed circuit with a pre-screen is normal practice |
| Tertiary (cone, closed circuit) | 3:1 to 4:1 | Fine product and product shape. Over-loaded tertiaries are the most common cause of a line missing its nameplate |
| Sand stage (VSI, closed circuit) | Varies with rotor speed | Shape and gradation control; rotor speed is the tuning screw, set against your product test at commissioning |
Turnaround is typically 3–7 days from receipt of complete input data. The configuration sheet is free and carries no obligation — a large share of our clients start here rather than with a price request, because it is the document that tells them whether their project is viable at all.
Quoting a price before the configuration is settled is how buyers end up comparing numbers that mean different things. A 300 t/h line is a different set of machines depending on whether the feed is 700 mm granite or 1,000 mm limestone, whether the market wants four product cuts or two, and whether the site has a rainy season. Two quotations for "300 t/h" can differ by 40% in equipment content and both be technically honest.
So we work in this order: inputs, configuration sheet, agreement on the configuration, then quotation. It takes a few days longer at the start and it removes almost all of the surprises later — including the expensive one where a client discovers at commissioning that the line does not produce the sizes their market actually buys.
Send material type, hardness, feed size, target capacity, product sizes and site conditions. Flow sheet and equipment list back within 3–7 days, at no cost.