| VENCO
have been manufacturing Pug Mills since 1983.
Our pug mills are renowned worldwide for their quality. This is reflected by our sales of over
9000 units worldwide.
Venco use the highest quality materials in the
construction of the pug mills to ensure a long and reliable service life.
Venco manufacture three different series of pugmills. The Mk2 models comprise a thick section, marine grade, aluminium barrel and a
single stainless steel auger. The new Super-twin's barrel and auger is
constructed entirely from stainless steel. This unit has an innovative twin
auger mixing chamber which leads to a single auger extruder. The very largest
Industrial Series pugs manufactured by Venco are also constructed entirely from stainless
steel. On all models stainless steel bolts are used whenever there is the
possibility of corrosion. These materials are chosen to minimise chances
of clay contamination by corrosion of the barrel or auger.
The drive trains comprises a single or three phase
(depending on model) AC motor, directly coupled to a high
efficiency industrial gearbox. All motors have integral thermal overload
protection. This combination not only guarantees smooth
quiet operation but also a long service life even under the most demanding
loads.
Our full range of pugs can be viewed by clicking on
the various tabs above.
What
is a pugmill?
A
pug mill is used to blend clay to restore it to a more uniform workable
consistency. This applies to new clay or clay scraps from previous work. Clay is loaded
into the feed hopper (closest to motor) and an internal auger pushes the clay along
the barrel, through some fine screens before recompressing the clay and
forcing it out the nozzle. The de -airing models incorporate a vacuum pump
which removes air trapped within the clay while pugging is performed. This produces the highest quality clay
for immediate use on a potters wheel. Traditionally
a similar result was obtained by kneading the clay with hands or feet for
several hours. This is still done in many countries but a pug mill can
make the task easier and quicker than the traditional manual method. Approximately
one hour of pug mill use will produce enough pugged clay for an average
professional potters days work. |
