Pug Mills Mixers

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equipment for mixing,recycling and reclaiming clay

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pugmills andclay mixers

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What You Need to Know aboutPugmills and Clay Mixersby Bill Jones

This is a comprehensive overview o how to approach the exploration and purchasing

o a pugmill or clay mixer. Researched and written by the editor o Pottery Making Illustrated,

it will guide you through everything you need to consider when looking to purchase recycling

and/or reclaim equipment or your clay studio.

Pugmills and Clay Mixers:

Equipment for Mixing, Recycling and Reclaiming ClayEveryone who works with clay invariably ends up with trimmings, dry work that just doesnt make the cut, and clay that simply dries out

too much to be workable. Depending on the volume o clay you use in your studio, and how much physical work you are willing to do to

reclaim and recycle that clay, you may consider a clay mixer or a pugmill to be a useul piece o equipment. They both make short work o

mixing clay, saving wear and tear on your body and saving signifcant amounts o time and energy in the process.

The question becomes one o ftting your needs to the right piece o equipment. Do you need a mixer to simply shorten the process and

get the clay and water together in the right amounts? This means you would still need to wedge the clay to even out consistency and

remove any air that became entrained in the mixing process. Perhaps you want a pugmill with a vacuum chamber that will remove the air

and produce ready-to-use logs o clay. Many pugmills can also be used as extruders. With the addition o a shaped die over the exit nozzle,

your pugmill can pull double duty in the studio.

The frst step in this process is to defne your needs. Then, o course, read through Pugmills and Clay Mixers: Equipment for Mixing,

Recycling and Reclaiming Clayto fnd the right clay equipment to suit your needs. Budget and additional accessories are certainly impor-

tant considerations as well, and or that reason, we have provided a resource list o manuacturers so you can research urther details.



What You Need toKnow about Pugmills

and Clay Mixersby Bill Jones

In all studios, potters are aced with the dilemmao recycling scrap clay, and in many studio situa-tions, its essential to be able to mix custom claybodies. Additionally, some studios require clay

that is ready to use without any additional wedging,either because o time constraints or concern or wear

and tear on the wrists. With the right machine, youcan easily deal with scrap clay and mix custom claybodies when theyre needed.

Types of MachinesThere are our common types o clay processorson the market: the horizontal-shat hopper mixer,the vertical-axis rotating-drum Soldner mixer, thepugmill and the combination mixer/pugmill.

Hopper MixerThis type o machine is simply an adaptation o the

traditional commercial dough mixer and consists oan open or lidded hopper with a horizontal mixingshat. In a hopper-type mixer, its normal to adddry materials frst, unless youre reprocessing scrap.Some hopper mixers are equipped with a revers-ing switch to allow you to reverse the direction othe blades several times to ensure complete mixing.When recycling scrap, clay should be in a slurry,meaning it should be slaked frst (dried then soakedin water). Recycled clay requires adding more drymix until the correct consistency is reached. Mixedclay is removed rom the hopper by hand.

Soldner MixerNamed ater its designer, Paul Soldner, this mixerconsists o a chain-driven rotating reinorced con-crete tub with stationary interior bars that mix andblend the clay quickly and eectively. The Soldnermixer works best when the water is added frst. A-ter dry materials are added, the mixture is rotatedthrough stationary bars that chop and blend theclay until the desired consistency is reached. Manystudios use the mixer as a slurry bucket. When thetub is hal ull, they turn it on, let it run or a while

An example o a horizontal mixer. The hopper on this modelrom Bluebird Mg. tilts orward to aid in emptying the machine

once the batch has been mixed. (Photo courtesy Bluebird Mfg.)

The Soldner mixer is an example o a verticalshat mixer. This mixer uses a concrete tubthat carries clay through stationary bars thatblend the clay as it moves through. (Photocourtesy Muddy Elbow Mfg.)



scores o options available, so you would be wise to do

some homework beore you charge ahead.

FunctionWhat do you need? I all you want to do is mix yourown clay, you need a mixer at a minimum. I you wanta mixer that empties itsel, go or the mixer/pugmill ora mixer with a tilting hopper. I you need clay thatsready to throw without any urther wedging, youll needa de-airing pugmill either as a stand alone machine or aspart o a mixer/pugmill. I your concern is just recycling,

and then add dry clay mixture to it. When the mixing iscomplete, the clay is unloaded by hand and stored.

PugmillsThe simplest common analogy or a pugmill is anoversized meat grinder. Moist clay is ed into a hopper,orced through a horizontal barrel by a series o rotat-ing blades, and, ater blending, is fnally extruded roma restricted opening at the end o the barrel. A pugmillequipped with a de-airing vacuum attachment canproduce clay that is ready to throw without any urtherwedging. The pugmill is best suited or fnal blending oclay bodies, or processing clay mixed as slurry and sti-ened to plastic consistency, and or processing slaked,stiened and recycled clay. It can also be used or blend-ing several clay bodies together, and is especially useulor adjusting the moisture content in clay.

Mixer/PugmillsAs the name implies, the mixer/pugmill provides theeatures o two machines. Consisting o a hopper orblending dry materials or reclaim eeding into a pugmill,these machines are an alternative to buying two separatemachines. Within this group o machines, the pugmillportion can serve in one o two waysas a discharge

unit or the mixer or as a separate, ully unction-ing pugmill. In the ormer case, clay constantly movesthrough the machine and has to be returned to the mixerater being extruded. In the latter type, a switch controlsseparate mixing and pugging actions.

Buying ConsiderationsClay mixers and pugmills are great machines designed tohelp potters in a variety o settings.Among the major manuacturers, there are literally

Pugmills are manuactured in many sizes up to large industriamodels. Most manuacturers produce a range o sizes suitableor a variety o studios. (Photo courtesy Venco Products)

Some mixer/pugmills operate in each mode independently,and many models have optional de-airing available or ready-to-use clay. (Photo courtesy Bailey Pottery Equipment)

Pugmills blend and homogenize clays. A de-airing vacuumpump removes air rom the clay, which in most cases elimi-nates the need or urther wedging. (Photo courtesy AxnerPottery)



a pugmill or a mixer/pugmill can do the job, but youllneed to ask the dealer about what condition the clayhas to be in beore it can be processed, or example,sti, bone dry, slurry, etc.

Capacity. Dont underestimate your needs and pur-chase a machine that wont keep up with your paceor uture plans. Likewise, dont purchase a machineyoull only use once or twice a year. Manuactuers

make machines o varying capacities and rate them bybatch-mixing sizes (in pounds), mixing rates (pounds/hour) and pugging rates (pounds/hour). In additionto these rates, youll need to consider times or batch-ing, unloading and wedging to get an idea o total claythrough put.

Ventilation. I youre planning to mix clay, youllneed a ventilation system to control dust even i theclay mixer has a tight ftting lid on the hopper. Thereare dust collection systems available or you may havean existing system to tie into. Caution: Even with aventilation system, youll still need to wear a respiratorwhen working with dry materials.

Electrical requirements. Larger machines have largermotors and hence draw more power. And i you opt ora separate mixer and pugmill, youll need to allow ortwo machines. Find out how much service you have (inamps) and whether your system can handle the addition-al draw (this is not usually a problem, but worth know-ing in advance). Youll also need to know whether youhave single phase (residential) or 3 phase (commercial/schools) service as this aects the type o motor.

Cleaning and storage. When switching rom dark tolight clays, or buying a machine without a tight seal, youllneed to clean the machine. I this is a concern, check outhow easy it is to dismantle the machine or cleaning. Whenstoring a machine or days or weeks at a time, or even oversummer holidays at schools, most machines can just besealed and the clay inside remains moist.

Safety. All machines are potentially dangerous, and

pugmills and mixers are no exception due to the tre-mendous torque required to blend and move clay. Mostmachines are equipped with saety shutos and guardsthat prevent hands rom coming in to contact with mov-ing blades and augers. Check and compare saety eaturesbeore purchasing.

For more informationl Axner Co. Inc. www.axner.com

l Bailey Pottery Equipment

www.baileypottery.com

l Bluebird Mg. Inc.

www.bluebird-mg.coml Peter Pugger

www.peterpugger.com

l Shimpo Ceramics

www.shimpoceramics.com

l Soldner Clay Mixers by Muddy Elbow Mg.

www.soldnerequipment.com

l Venco www.venco.com

Note: Many manufacturers sell their machines through a network ofdistributors. Check the websites above and with your local supplier.

Pugmills can double as power extruders when fttedwith dies, providing an additional tool to your studio.

(Photo courtesy Bailey Pottery Equipment)

Mixer/pugmills are manuactured in a variety o sizes, andmost models are capable o processing both dry and moist

clay, as well as scrap in any orm. (Photo courtesy Peter Pugger)


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