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This defect in pugged clay is often termed "hard chunks". There is always some gap between the pugmill blades and the sidewalls - as the pugmil runs a hard crust develops against the barrel in this space. Harder pieces can then break off at the upper edge on the side of blade rise (as the shaft rotates). The harder pieces are thus composed of the same clay. Still, if meticulous attention can be paid to prevent this, it should happen rarely. Several factors play to make the problem worse or more likely.
-A pre-mixer is not being used. When pugmills see double duty as the mixer and the pugger dry clay is fed into the head of the barrel and mixed with water by the blades. This problem is exacerbated by several factors. When the powder entering a mixer/pugger has zero water content or has a recipe having a high percentage of bentonite (it resists being wetted). When the pugmill blades are angled too much they can push the clay down the barrel before it has adequate chance to wet.
-When the pugmill is used for extended periods without cleanout.
-When the pugmill is not fitted with a bar to hold the dry layer in place.
The pugmill has been reassembled after cleaning and is ready for startup. This machine is powerful and capable of injecting a lot of energy into the material, enough that a premixer is not needed for typical body types. Clay powder and water are fed into the main mixing chamber by a screw conveyor at the far end. Dozens of blades on the rotating shaft inside cut and mix the material with the water so that by the time it has reached halfway all traces of powder are gone. At the end of the main chamber an auger delivers the soft clay to a narrowing venturi terminated by a shredder. This compresses and slices the material with dozens of tiny blades as it enters the vacuum chamber (yellow cover). This chamber, into which the main shaft extends, contains many more blades that further mix and expose as much surface as possible for de-airing. The material proceeds to a final auger that further compresses the clay and delivers it to the nose where a column is extruded for cutting to length and packaging. This combination premixing and pugging in the same machine enables a continuous process from raw lumps to powderizing to final pugged product.
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