Prater offers a wide range of particle size reduction, feeding, and separation equipment, such as fine grinders, air classifying mills, rotary sifters, air classifiers, rotary airlock valve feeders, and more. All Prater equipment, parts, and systems are designed and built to provide years of low-maintenance, reliable service. Prater also offers highly skilled and experienced technical services on-site for start-up, troubleshooting, and preventative maintenance.
Air Classifiers
Air Classifying Mills
Prater’s air classifying mills combine two-stage grinding with internal air classification, offering superior ultra-fine micronization and handling challenging products with ultra-narrow particle distributions.
Fine Grinders
Ideal for grinding dry, free-flowing, or heat-sensitive materials to 325 mesh, it features precise blade-to-screen tolerance for narrow particle distribution, with a cantilevered rotor and outboard spindle that improve reliability and reduce maintenance.
Rotary AirLock Valves
Our rotary airlocks feature standard 8-blade rotors with precision machining to reduce air loss, oversized inlet throats, and rotor pockets for maximum displacement. Optional features include air-purged seals, replaceable rotor tips, and various wear coatings.
Rotary Sifters
This machine delivers high-capacity sifting and scalping well above conventional sifters of similar size. Adjustable paddles and flexible mesh reduce binding in high-fat/oil materials, while a three-bearing design ensures smooth, vibration-free operation and durability.
Rotormill
The IPEC Rotormill uses a “Long Gap Mill” concept with a lengthy annular gap path, where grinding occurs through particle-on-particle collisions driven by extreme turbulence.
Rotodryer®
The IPEC Rotormill uses a “Long Gap Mill” concept with a lengthy annular gap path, where grinding occurs through particle-on-particle collisions driven by extreme turbulence.
Food Processing Material Handling Equipment for Food & Beverage Industries
Prater has proudly served the food and beverage processing industry for over 90 years by providing high-quality food processing equipment to allow companies to produce quality food for the masses. Our advanced Hammer Mills and Lump Breakers are reliable equipment for breaking down food products such as bran flakes, dried beans, and peanut shells into smaller sizes, or breaking lumps in sugar, cocoa, pasta shells, and granola bars. Additionally, Prater’s Centrifugal Rotary Sifter can be used to scalp and divide dry product into two separate entities with ease. All of our main food processing machinery was developed for greater dust collection. This not only helps with general cleanliness and sanitation, but the extensive dust collecting abilities within our food processing machinery ensure an uncontaminated, sterile operation all around.
Chemicals & Minerals Particle Size Reduction & Handling for Chemicals & Minerals
Chemicals | In the chemicals sector, precise particle size control is essential for achieving desired product characteristics and performance. Prater’s range of particle size reduction equipment, including hammer mills, crushers, and air classifiers, enables chemical manufacturers to finely grind or micronize raw materials to the exact specifications required for their products. Whether it’s processing chemicals for pharmaceuticals, pigments for paints, or additives for polymers, Prater’s equipment ensures consistent particle size distribution, enhancing product quality and performance.
Prater offers specialized equipment for handling abrasive or corrosive materials commonly found in the chemicals industry. Its robust material handling solutions, such as rotary airlocks and screw feeders, are designed to withstand harsh operating conditions while efficiently transporting bulk materials throughout the production process. This ensures smooth material flow, minimizes downtime, and optimizes operational efficiency.
Minerals | In the minerals industry, where the processing of ores, rocks, and aggregates is paramount, Prater’s expertise in particle size reduction and material handling is equally indispensable. Its rugged hammer mills, pulverizers, and crushers are capable of reducing minerals to the desired particle size for applications ranging from mineral processing to construction materials.
Agricultural Processing of Grains and other Agricultural Commodities
A wide variety of grains and similar agricultural commodities are processed before human use. Some of the more common ones include oats, corn, wheat, maize, rice, rye, and barley. Additional food products include quinoa, triticale, rice, soybeans, and a whole host of seeds, including pumpkin, sesame, flax, chia, and sunflower. Particularly regarding grains, separating the outer parts from the interior of the whole grain is one of the many every day processing tasks.
Other Particle Management Equipment for a Variety of Industries
Other companies often need powder and bulk material handling equipment and systems for their specific materials that may fall slightly outside the food, baking, chemical, pharmaceutical, mineral, agricultural, and feed industries. Prater recognizes these other industries and is adept at handling their specific applications. We have worked for over 90 years to create customized solutions for particle management and dry bulk processing that incorporate a multitude of industries.
Case Study: Real Screen Design Solutions | Powder Coating Industry
CASE STUDIES
Vinyl Powder Solutions
A large flooring manufacturer in Southern Illinois processes many powders including limestone and vinyl to make laminate, vinyl sheet, vinyl tile and linoleum.
The Challenge:
As part of their process, vinyl powder is off-loaded from rail cars and
transferred into large storage silos. From there, the extremely fine vinyl
powder is fed pneumatically into smaller silos as needed, and is then
pneumatically transferred into one of the mixing stations.
Solution: PAV-10 Rotary Airlock | Inpro Seal
Results: $4,000 in vinyl powder recovery
savings in the first 6 months | More efficient and higher capacity production line | $10,000 annual savings with a ROI within 7 months
Screen Design Solutions
The subject of this case study manufactures powder coatings for various applications and industries. Their coatings have earned a reputation for innovative, high-performance products and world-class service making them a leader in the marketplace. Today, this company serves the world’s top designers and manufacturers.
The Challenge:
This industry leading company developed a new product line specifically for one new customer. During the development process, they discovered that oversized particles were getting mixed in with the final product instead of being completely screened out by the Rota-Sieve as intended. These oversized particles were adversely affecting the finish and causing blemishes in the powder coating. This problem had never been identified before, even on material being run on screens as fine as 200 mesh. They determined that the issue was neither caused because of the chemistry of the new product or the process leading up to the Prater Sifter.
Solution: Additional Gaskets added to Rota-Sieve for immediate repair | Design Improvement to the Prater Rota-Sieve for improved performance
Results: Seized opportunity for new Powder coating application | Confidence to move forward with new product development | Ability to fulfill their obligation to their new customer | New revenue stream
Fine Grinding Solutions
One of the country’s largest producers, distributors and marketers of premium quality, branded pet products and food products for the U.S. retail market, generating over $3 billion in net sales in their previous fiscal year. With a substantial portfolio of brands, their products are found in eight out of ten U.S. households.
The Challenge:
This customer had recently seen a decrease from 3 months jaw life from the MSeries Fine Grinder to a 1.5 months use. An increase in part wear and a change in the raw material and flow system were most likely the culprits.
Solution: Redesign Of The MSeries Fine Grinder | Increase Rockwell Hardness To 48-52 | Research and Development Of New Raw Material for Superior Grinding
Results: Lowered Jaw Costs 17% Annually |
Increased Jaw Performance | Lengthened Jaw Life by 2.5 months | Eliminated Production Downtime
Looking for particle management solutions?
Contact Ryan - ryan@ratetechnology.com
to learn how Prater Industries can benefit your operations.