Feed Milling Equipment

The pre-grinding or pre-milling system is not connected to the feed production line; therefore, the grinding capacity can be less than the capacity of the feed mill, and the production program can be different without affecting the process. These give the advantage of doing maintenance without affecting the animal feed production process. But the facility should produce one or few products in order to use efficiently the grounded material. It is important to have a big storage capacity for each raw material grounded, so the milling equipment can operate at full capacity and for long periods. To have more flexibility to operate, you can have multiple milling equipment to process different single materials at the same time. With this configuration the hammer mills or rotor mills are smaller and have smaller motors than in post-grinding, meaning in most cases a lower requirement of horsepower, sometimes even with a lower overall energy consumption.

The milling equipment reduces the size of the particles, removes some moisture, and in post-milling, it blends the materials. In the feed grinder machine, the gap between the hammer or the roller and the screen needs to be adjusted depending on the desired particle size, according to the requirements of palatability and digestibility of the livestock and the formulated raw materials. If you want fine particles the gap needs to be small, if you want coarse particles the gap should be bigger. Producing fines requires more energy consumption and may cause quick wear in the hammer and the screen. Besides, dust can be formed from fines during the process, turning into an explosion hazard. But fine grounded material contributes to a better agglomeration and homogeneity of the mix, as well as easy absorption of fat and coating, thus a better pellet quality.