The manufacturing industry is not a single entity–rather, it’s divided up into many different categories. While some manufacturing plants craft products made out of a plastic or metal that don’t “go bad” — and thus aren’t dependent on a particular timeline — others manufacture food products. Food products are, conversely, heavily dependent on deadlines. If they aren’t made in a reasonable amount of time, then they won’t be packaged in time, and subsequently money will be lost. This goes for animal food just as it does for “human grade” food — though animal food does typically last longer due to the preservatives used. It’s vital that certain machines are used during the production of animal food, as this will keep the production line running smoothly and as quickly as possible. Below, we’ll look into what kinds of machines are used in animal food mills, and why — what is the purpose of one machine versus another, and what are the risks associated with those machines? Although it’s important to get products moved in time, what’s even more important is human life. These machines can all be dangerous if not used correctly, and therefore need to be completely understand.

Crumblers: The Basics

Crumblers are machines that are commonly used in food mills due to their power and efficiency. Essentially, a crumbler is a roller mill — a type of food crusher machine — that breaks up pellets into smaller particles. This leaves the pellets more finely milled for whatever reason — perhaps this makes them easier for the target animal to eat, or perhaps it’s crumbling them so that they can be included in a blend of some kind. Crumblers typically consist of two corrugated rolls placed below a cooler/drier exit. If the granules or “crumbles” are desired, the pellets will be diverted into the crumbler part of the machine. Otherwise, they can simply bypass it. Crumblers are fairly simple machines to use, but need to be handled with respect and care. Should a crumbler be malfunctioning in some way, then the pellets that were supposed to “bypass” the crumbler itself may not — thus, pellets that weren’t supposed to be crumbled will be, and an entire batch of food will be ruined. This machine is integral to most animal food manufacturing plants, however, as animal food often comes in a pellet form that is far from ideal for every blend or brand product.

Tumbling: Smoothing Products

Some types of products need to be made smooth rather than coarse. Often, this doesn’t affect the animal food manufacturing industry — but it can make some products, including food pellets, more appealing in appearance for consumers. The step of the process that handles smoothing is tumbling or tumble finishing. This process is also known as barreling or barrel finishing due to the equipment used. Not only is the product ultimately smoothed — it’s also broken down into smaller parts. Usually, a barrel — that may be plastic or rubber-lined in some cases — is loaded with product and rotated. The speed of the rotation is adjusted for optimal results. As previously mentioned, it should be noted that tumbling isn’t just used for this category of manufacturing, but many others. Tumbling is often done to polish rocks, gemstones, and glass, as well as metal. Glass can be tumbled as well, making it more suitable for mosaics. Tumblr can even finish dice.

Safety And Manufacturing

With any machine, it’s important to keep everything running as smoothly as possible. This is particularly true for food crusher machines — if a machine can crush food, it can also severely injury anyone working with it. With that being said, all machines should ideally be inspected on a regular basis by professionals. For that matter, old pieces of equipment and parts should be replaced regularly to ensure optimal performance. With this in mind, products will be manufactured well and people will be kept safe.