In the world of mineral processing, selecting the right crushing equipment is the most critical decision a plant manager makes. Two machines often cause confusion due to their visual similarities and shared mechanics: the Gyratory Crusher and the Cone Crusher. Both utilize a rotating mantle to crush rock against a stationary liner. Both are vertical compression crushers. However, treating them as interchangeable is a costly mistake.

Understanding the Gyratory crusher vs. cone crusher distinction is essential for optimizing plant layout, estimating capital expenditure (CapEx), and ensuring operational efficiency. This guide by ZONEDING breaks down the definitions and seven fundamental differences to help you make an informed investment.

Table of Contents

• What is a Gyratory Crusher?
• What is a Cone Crusher?
• Difference 1: The Role in the Crushing Plant (Primary vs. Secondary)
• Difference 2: Feed Size and Opening
• Difference 3: Crushing Chamber Design
• Difference 4: Crushing Speed and Stroke
• Difference 5: Mechanical Structure and Suspension
• Difference 6: Capacity and Throughput
• Difference 7: Price and Operating Costs
• How to Choose the Suitable One?
• Conclusion

What is a Gyratory Crusher?

A Gyratory Crusher is a heavy-duty primary crushing machine engineered to process raw, blasted rock directly from the mine face. It is essentially a crushing giant. Physically, it consists of a massive steel conical head (mantle) sitting on an eccentric shaft. This head gyrates (wobbles) inside a funnel-shaped outer shell lined with concave plates.

When rock enters the top, it is trapped between the moving mantle and the stationary concave. As the mantle gyrates, it squeezes the rock until it shatters. The unique feature of a gyratory crusher is its continuous crushing action. Unlike a Jaw Crusher, which crushes only on the “close” stroke, the Gyratory crushes efficiently around the entire 360-degree chamber. It is defined by its steep crushing chamber and “spider” suspension system at the top, allowing it to handle high capacities and blocky materials typical of large-scale open-pit mines.

What is a Cone Crusher?

A Cone Crusher is a compression machine designed for the secondary, tertiary, and quaternary stages of crushing. While it shares the same eccentric “wobble” mechanic as the gyratory, its design is optimized for specific sizing rather than bulk reduction.

ZONEDING Cone Crushers (such as the HPT and HST series) feature a flatter crushing chamber and operate at much higher speeds. The goal of a cone crusher is not just to break rock, but to shape it. By using a high crushing frequency and a large stroke, it encourages “inter-particle crushing” (rock crushing against rock). This produces a finer, more uniform output with a high percentage of cubical products, which is essential for high-quality concrete and asphalt aggregates. It is the workhorse of the modern aggregate plant, sitting downstream from the primary station.

Difference 1: The Role in the Crushing Plant (Primary vs. Secondary)

The most defining difference lies in where the machine sits in your flowchart.

Gyratory Crusher: The Primary Giant

The Gyratory Crusher is exclusively a Primary Crusher. It is the first machine the rock meets after being blasted from the mine face. It competes directly with the Jaw Crusher. Its job is bulk reduction. It takes run-of-mine (ROM) ore and reduces it to a size that a conveyor belt can handle (usually 150-300mm). You will almost never see a Gyratory Crusher used for fine crushing.

Cone Crusher: The Secondary Specialist

The Cone Crusher is a Secondary or Tertiary Crusher. It occupies the middle or end of the production line. It takes the output from a primary crusher (like a Jaw or Gyratory) and reduces it further. ZONEDING Cone Crushers are designed to produce final product sizes (like 20mm or 40mm) or to prepare material for a ball mill.

Difference 2: Feed Size and Opening

Because their roles are different, their physical capacity to accept rock varies immensely. This is often the deciding factor for mine operators.

The Massive Mouth of the Gyratory

Gyratory Crushers are designed with a massive, circular feed opening. They generally do not need a feeder to regulate the flow; trucks dump rock directly into the crusher (choke feeding).

• Feed Size: Can accept rocks up to 1300mm – 1500mm in diameter.
• Design: The top is wide and open to accommodate the irregular shapes of blasted boulders.

The Restricted Diet of the Cone

Cone Crushers have a much smaller, stricter feed opening.

• Feed Size: Typically accepts rocks between 35mm and 300mm depending on the model.
• Design: If you feed a 500mm boulder into a Cone Crusher, it will simply sit on top of the feed opening (bridging) and potentially damage the machine or block the flow. The rock must be pre-crushed before entering a Cone.

Difference 3: Crushing Chamber Design

While both use a “cone” shape, the geometry of the crushing chamber dictates how the rock is broken. This affects efficiency and wear.

Steep and Deep (Gyratory)

The Gyratory Crusher features a steep, vertical crushing chamber.

• Geometry: The angle of the cone is steep.
• Function: This steepness uses gravity to pull large, sticky, or oddly shaped rocks down into the crushing zone efficiently. It prevents material from slipping. The chamber is very tall, allowing for multiple crushing cycles as the rock falls, ensuring the large boulder is fully broken by the time it reaches the bottom.

Flat and Parallel (Cone)

The Cone Crusher features a flatter, shallower crushing chamber.

• Geometry: The sides are less steep, and the crushing zone is longer horizontally.
• Parallel Zone: ZONEDING Cone Crushers feature a unique “parallel zone” at the bottom of the chamber where the liner and mantle are parallel for a significant distance.
• Function: This design retains the material longer in the compression zone. It ensures the rock is crushed multiple times to create a specific size and a good cubical shape.

Difference 4: Crushing Speed and Stroke

Speed and “throw” (how far the mantle moves) determine the throughput and the fineness of the product.

Slow and Steady (Gyratory)

The Gyratory Crusher operates at a relatively low speed (rpm).

• Stroke: It has a smaller eccentric throw relative to its size.
• Action: It relies on immense pressure and torque to break large volume rocks. It crushes by sheer force.

Fast and High Frequency (Cone)

The Cone Crusher operates at a much higher speed.

• Stroke: It has a large stroke (throw) and high frequency.
• Action: This high-energy action imparts a high impact force on the particles. This method, often called “lamination crushing” (rock-on-rock), allows rocks to crush against other rocks, not just the metal liners. This increases the percentage of fine material produced.

Difference 5: Mechanical Structure and Suspension

How is the massive central shaft supported? This is a major mechanical difference that affects maintenance and installation height.

Suspended Shaft (Gyratory)

In a Gyratory Crusher, the main shaft is suspended from the top of the machine by a specialized spider bearing assembly.

Feature	Gyratory Crusher	Cone Crusher
Shaft Support	Suspended from the top (Spider)	Supported from the bottom
Height	Very Tall (requires deep foundation)	Low Profile
Adjustment	Raise/Lower Shaft	Rotate Bowl or Hydraulic Cylinder

• Implication: The machine is extremely tall. It usually requires a massive underground concrete foundation. The crushing force is transferred to the outer shell and the foundation. Adjusting the discharge setting involves raising or lowering this massive suspended shaft hydraulically.

Supported Shaft (Cone)

In a Cone Crusher, the movable cone is supported from the bottom.

• Implication: The machine is more compact and shorter. The crushing force is contained within the frame. In modern ZONEDING hydraulic designs (like the HPT series), the main shaft is fixed, and the crushing mantle sits on an eccentric sleeve that rotates around it.

Difference 6: Capacity and Throughput

When planning a plant, the volume of material you need to move (Tons Per Hour – TPH) often dictates the choice between a Gyratory and a Jaw, but it also highlights the scale difference with Cones.

• Gyratory Capacity: Truly massive. A large Gyratory crusher can process 2,000 to 4,000 TPH or more. It is designed for super-large open-pit mines where production never stops. It processes material faster than a Jaw crusher.
• Cone Capacity: Variable but generally lower per unit. Large Cone Crushers can handle 500 TPH, but standard models often operate in the 100-400 TPH range.
• System Logic: In a large plant, one single Gyratory Crusher might feed three or four Cone Crushers working in parallel. The primary stage acts as a funnel; the secondary stage spreads the load.

Difference 7: Price and Operating Costs

Budget allocation is the final hurdle. The cost difference between these two machines is substantial.

The Investment Heavyweight: Gyratory

• Initial Price: A Gyratory Crusher is one of the most expensive pieces of mining equipment available. It is a massive capital expenditure (CapEx).
• Infrastructure: The cost isn’t just the machine. You must dig a massive pit, pour extensive concrete foundations, and build steel structures to support the dump trucks above “t.
• Maintenance: Maintenance is complex due to the size. However, the liner wear cost per ton is generally low because it performs a coarse reduction.

The Modern Standard: Cone

• Initial Price: Significantly cheaper. While premium hydraulic cones are not “cheap,” they are a fraction of the cost of a Gyratory.
• Infrastructure: Requires standard foundations or can even be mounted on steel skids or mobile chassis.
• Maintenance: Modern ZONEDING Cone Crushers feature automatic tramp iron release and hydraulic clearing, making maintenance fast and reducing downtime.
• Operating Cost: Wear parts (mantle/concave) need replacing more frequently than a Gyratory because the machine works harder to produce fines, but the parts are smaller and cheaper to buy.

How to Choose the Suitable One?

You need a Gyratory Crusher if:

• Capacity: You need to process over 1,500 tons per hour.
• Raw Material: You have a massive open-pit mine with huge blasted rock (1 meter+).
• Longevity: You generate a mine plan for 15+ years of continuous operation.

You need a Cone Crusher if:

• Stage: You already have a primary crusher (Jaw or Gyratory) and need to reduce the rock further.
• Product: You need to produce specific aggregate sizes (e.g., 20mm road base) or ball mill feed.
• Shape: You need high-quality cubical shaped stone for concrete or asphalt.
• Flexibility: You need a machine that is easy to adjust and automate.

Conclusion

The debate of Gyratory Crusher vs. Cone Crusher is not really a debate about which is “better,” but rather which is “correct” for the stage of production.

The Gyratory is the hungry giant, sitting at the entrance of the world’s largest mines, consuming massive boulders. The Cone Crusher is the precision athlete, sitting downstream, refining that rock into valuable, usable commodities. For 90% of aggregate producers and quarries, the ideal combination is a Jaw Crusher (Primary) followed by a ZONEDING Cone Crusher (Secondary).

Understanding these seven differences prevents costly engineering mistakes. If you are ready to design a crushing circuit that balances capacity with logical investment, contact the ZONEDING engineering team today for a custom flowchart and quote.

Last Updated: January 2026