2000–2500 KG/H Sheep Hammer Mill Feed Grinder in South Africa

Four hours to prepare the roughage stock

The planning brief calls for eight tonnes of ground roughage per production day, prepared within four net grinding hours. This leaves the mill free to schedule grain preparation and batch mixing around a defined roughage stock. The SFSP66×80 animal feed hammer mill is sized against that requirement, with a proposed net throughput of 2,000 kg/h.

Four net hours at 2,000 kg/h would prepare eight tonnes daily. Across 200 scheduled roughage-processing days, the planning total is 1,600 tonnes annually. These figures describe ground roughage; the mill's total feed output also includes cereals, protein ingredients and other formulation components.

The four-hour window helps explain the model choice. At 1,500 kg/h, the same eight tonnes would require more than five net grinding hours. A larger crusher machine would need a stronger feeding and collection system without serving an additional requirement in this brief.

Lucerne and maize stover need separate trials

The principal inputs are baled lucerne hay and field-dried maize stover. Lucerne provides a leaf-and-stem mixture; stover brings tougher stalk sections and greater variation between leaf, husk and stem. Both are relevant to sheep feeding in the Free State, but their nutritional value and grinding behaviour differ.

For commissioning, the proposed incoming moisture range is 12–14%. Each delivery needs sampling, including the interior of bales. Damp, heating or visibly spoiled material is held out of the grinding schedule. Grinding follows acceptance of the feedstock.

The existing bale-opening and cutting equipment prepares loose pieces approximately 20–30 mm long. Bale twine, wire, stones and soil are removed before the metered feeder. Magnetic separation provides another check for ferrous contamination. Whole compressed bales would make the hammer mill's feeding duty unnecessarily difficult.

Lucerne and stover are tested separately before approved blends. The records identify moisture, stem content, feed rate, screen and collected output. A performance figure from leafy lucerne alone would give the buyer little information about a later load of coarse stover.

The screen controls only part of the product specification

The proposed trial target is a geometric mean particle size around 2–3 mm, with the fine fraction and longer fibres recorded separately. Tests with 6 mm and 8 mm screens establish the useful setting for each material. A screen aperture does not give every particle that diameter: slender fibres can pass lengthwise.

The mill can then compare ground meal in its existing pellet press. The product brief is a 5 mm sheep supplement pellet, approximately 8–12 mm long. Diameter comes from the feed pellet mill's ring die, and length from its cutter. The hammer mill prepares ingredients for that process.

Sheep rations require adequate fibre with suitable physical characteristics. The nutritionist determines roughage inclusion and the feeding instructions for supplements used alongside farm forage. Lucerne and stover retain their different nutritional values after grinding; forage analysis remains part of formulation.

Coarser hay intended for other products can bypass this grinding stage. Maize meal and hominy chop follow the mill's existing ingredient routes, while molasses and liquid additions enter downstream. This arrangement preserves flexibility between product batches.

Keep the feeder and discharge working together

Low-density material can bridge above an inlet or arrive in sudden clumps. The proposed package therefore needs a feeder suited to chopped forage, with feed rate controlled against main-motor load. Stable feeding gives the operator a more useful adjustment than repeatedly reducing the screen opening.

The receiving system also needs sufficient volume for light roughage meal. Bin sizing follows measured loose bulk density. Aspiration, duct resistance, dust collection and discharge capacity are checked together, including access for clearing and inspection. Loss of extraction or a full receiver should stop incoming material.

Site review covers foundation loads, inlet and outlet heights, lifting access and space to withdraw screens. South Africa's 50 Hz supply suits the specified speed basis; the electrician must confirm site voltage, motor starting arrangements and available electrical capacity. The 75 kW rating covers the main motor only.

Dry grinding needs no process steam or added water. If a pulse-cleaned bag filter is selected, its compressed-air demand belongs in the utility schedule.

A planning crew of one grinder operator and one bale-preparation worker assumes mechanically assisted bale handling. Their duties include material identification, sampling, feeding and housekeeping. Manual handling requirements need review against the actual bale format and layout.

Define the handover around the difficult material

A proposed shipment route is Qingdao Port to Durban, followed by inland trucking to the Free State. Packing and unloading arrangements follow the approved dimensions and lifting points. The equipment drawings and connection details should reach the mill before dispatch so its maintenance team can prepare the interfaces.

Acceptance should include representative stemmy stover as well as lucerne. The run records accepted kilograms per hour, particle distribution, total circuit electricity, interruptions and downstream pellet behaviour. Operators also need instruction in isolation, screen changes and replacing hammers as balanced sets according to the service procedure.

For this mill, the purchasing objective is a predictable roughage preparation window with repeatable meal quality. RICHI Machinery can develop the machine scope, material trial and spare-parts list around that objective. A useful running-cost comparison includes the feeder, fan, wear parts and operator time alongside the main motor.

When discussing a sheep hammer mill feed grinder in South Africa with RICHI, provide bale photographs, representative forage samples, measured moisture, daily roughage tonnage and the available grinding hours. Include the existing cutter and collection-system details. These establish what the quoted grinder package must handle.