Allis Chalmers Crusher

The Enduring Legacy of the Allis-Chalmers Crusher: Giants of Rock Reduction

For decades in mines and quarries around the globe, the name Allis-Chalmers was synonymous with robust, reliable rock crushing machinery. While the company itself ceased operations in 1985 after over 130 years of industrial innovation, its crushers – particularly its iconic Gyratory models – remain legendary figures in mineral processing history and continue to operate in many plants today.

More Than Just Machines: A Foundation of Innovation

Allis-Chalmers entered the crushing equipment market early in the 20th century through acquisitions like Gates Iron Works (1910), renowned for its powerful gyratory crushers designed for primary crushing duties – handling massive boulders straight from the pit face.

The true hallmark of Allis-Chalmers crushers lay in their engineering philosophy:

1. Uncompromising Strength: Built with massive castings and forgings, these machines were designed to withstand years of punishing service under enormous loads processing hard rock.
2. Gyratory Dominance: Allis-Chalmers became a world leader in primary gyratory crushers (like the famous Superior McCully line). Their design featured:
A sturdy main frame housing.
A large central spindle (“main shaft”) supporting a mantle.
An eccentric assembly causing the mantle to gyrate within a stationary concave bowl liner.
This gyrating motion created compressive forces that broke rock efficiently as it entered from above.
3. The Hydrocone Revolution: Perhaps their most significant contribution was pioneering hydraulic technology with the Hydrocone® crusher, introduced commercially in the late 1950s/early 1960s.
Hydraulic Adjustment & Overload Protection: This revolutionary system used hydraulic cylinders instead of mechanical springs to support the main shaft assembly and adjust the crusher’s discharge setting (crusher gap). Crucially, it provided automatic overload protection; if uncrushable material entered (“tramp iron”), hydraulic pressure could release instantly (“dump”), allowing it to pass without catastrophic damage.
Improved Control & Efficiency: Operators could now adjust settings quickly under load via hydraulics rather than cumbersome mechanical methods common at the time.

4. Cone Crusher Excellence: Beyond gyratories and Hydrocones, Allis-Chalmers produced highly respected cone crushers for secondary and tertiary crushing stages (like Svedala models