Buying Guide

Crushing & Screening Buying Guide: Crushers, Screens and How to Choose

Choose crushing and screening equipment from the feed size, product specification and tons per hour: jaw or cone or impact, mobile or stationary, and the screen deck that sizes the product.

By Global Machinery Hub · Published July 8, 2026 · Updated November 2, 2026 · 4 min read
Hydraulic jaw crusher

The core idea of this page: crushing and screening is specified from three numbers — feed size, product size and tons per hour — then resolved into a crusher type, a mobile or stationary plant, and a screen deck that sizes the product. Fix those three numbers first and the machine choice largely follows.

Last updated: October 20, 2026. A crusher is bought to reach a product specification at a cost per tonne, not to hit a headline throughput. This guide walks the selection path in the order that prevents the most expensive mistakes.

Step 1 — Fix the feed and the product

Write down the maximum feed size, the required product size (or range of sizes), the material hardness and abrasiveness, and the tons per hour. These four facts decide the crusher type and the number of stages. A primary jaw takes large feed and reduces it; a secondary cone or impactor takes that and produces the final sizes; a tertiary crusher or a vertical-shaft impactor produces fines and manufactured sand.

Step 2 — Choose the crusher type

  • Jaw crusher: primary compression crushing for large, hard, abrasive feed. See How a Jaw Crusher Works.
  • Cone crusher: secondary and tertiary crushing for hard rock, producing a cubical product. See Jaw vs Cone Crusher.
  • Impact crusher: high reduction for softer, less abrasive rock and recycling, producing a good-shaped product.

Step 3 — Mobile or stationary

A mobile plant moves between sites and suits contractors and shorter campaigns; a stationary plant suits a long-life quarry or mine with a fixed product flow. See Mobile vs Stationary Crushing Plant for the full comparison.

Step 4 — Size the screen and the closed-side setting

The vibrating screen separates the crushed material into on-spec fractions, and the crusher\u0027s closed-side setting (CSS) sets the largest product size. Confirm the machine can hold your CSS on your rock and that the screen deck mesh matches the product sizes you must sell.

Step 5 — Budget the cost per tonne

Wear parts, energy and maintenance dominate crushing cost, not the purchase price. For abrasive rock, liner replacement is the largest recurring cost — ask for a cost-per-tonne estimate on your material and duty cycle.

Frequently asked questions

How many crushing stages do I need?

One stage for soft rock or recycling; two stages (jaw + cone/impact) for most hard-rock aggregate; three or more when you need fines, manufactured sand or very high reduction ratios.

What is a closed-side setting?

The CSS is the smallest gap the crusher closes to, and it sets the largest product particle size. It is adjusted by the machine\u0027s setting system and verified against your product specification.

Source: Crusher — Wikipedia

"Typically, crushing stages are followed by milling stages if the materials need to be further processed."

Last verified: October 20, 2026.