Machinery Monday: The Pugmill

Ever wondered what happens to the clay from bowls that fell flat on the wheel? Or all those scraps cast aside? This is where a Pugmill comes into play.

A mixing, compressing recycling machine, the Pugmill is used to reduce and extrude clay to make it uniform. Using internal mixing blades, the machine can transform scraps into perfect, workable clay. They are particularly advantageous when recycling large volumes of clay, an alternative to wedging clay by hand. 

Pugmills are used industrially in the production of pottery, bricks, cement and concrete. When it comes to pugmills in ceramics, these can be fitted a vacuum system to ensure that the clay doesn't have any trapped air in it.

You will find pugmills in most ceramics studios. In Scotland, you can find ceramics facilities at Glasgow Ceramics Studio and Cyan Clayworks. Most ceramics fabrication companies and pottery studios will also have a pugmill, such as Highland Stoneware , Northshore Pottery and Julia Smith Ceramics.