Since 1976, Quadro Engineering has set the global standard in conical milling and particle size reduction — beginning with the invention of the Comil®, the original conical mill that transformed how manufacturers handle powder processing. That single innovation established a technology that has since become the worldwide processing standard, trusted by the world’s leading pharmaceutical, food, cosmetics, chemical, and nutraceutical manufacturers for over five decades.

Today, Quadro offers one of the industry’s most comprehensive ranges of milling, fine grinding, and screening equipment — from bench-scale laboratory systems through full production-scale platforms — all designed around the principle of consistent, repeatable, scalable particle size reduction. Every Quadro product is designed and manufactured in an ISO 9001:2015 certified facility, and the full product line is available in ATEX and explosion-proof configurations for hazardous environments. Quadro Engineering is a division of IDEX MPT, Inc.

Trotter Equipment has represented Quadro for more than 25 years across Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Together, we combine Quadro’s world-leading milling technology and global application expertise with Trotter’s practical, field-tested knowledge — helping customers scale confidently from lab to production, from feasibility testing through validated manufacturing.

Quadro Equipment

Quadro’s product line addresses three core particle processing operations — conical milling, fine grinding, and delumping and security screening — across three scale levels from laboratory through full production.

Conical Milling — The Comil® Technology

The Comil® is the original conical mill and the machine on which Quadro built their global reputation. The conical mill produces consistent, narrow particle size distributions through a combination of centrifugal force, impeller action, and a conical screen — with significantly less heat generation, noise, and fines production than conventional hammer mills or pin mills. The gentle action preserves particle morphology and makes the Comil ideal for heat-sensitive, friable, and high-potency materials. Available in a wide range of screen types, aperture sizes, and impeller geometries to precisely match your target PSD.

• Underdriven Comil® — The classic Comil configuration, with the drive motor positioned below the milling head. The most widely installed conical mill in the world. Available in multiple sizes from laboratory scale through large production. Ideal for granule sizing, wet granulation milling, de-agglomeration, and general powder sizing in pharmaceutical, food, and chemical applications. Simple, reliable design with a minimal number of product-contact parts for easy cleaning and changeover.
• Overdriven Comil® — Drive motor positioned above the milling head, with product fed from the bottom — delivering a more open, gravity-assisted product flow path and easier integration into contained processing lines and isolators. Preferred for high-potency API milling where containment and operator protection are critical. Available in multiple sizes with the same extensive range of screens and impellers as the Underdriven Comil.
• G96 Food Mill — A specialized conical mill designed specifically for high-capacity food processing applications including sugar grinding, spice milling, dehydrated vegetable processing, and other food ingredient sizing. Built to food-grade sanitary standards with easy cleaning and USDA-acceptable construction. High throughput with low heat generation preserves flavor, color, and nutritional value of heat-sensitive food ingredients.

SDx™ Series — Production-Scale & Mid-Size Milling Platform

Quadro’s next-generation innovation in production-scale powder processing. The SDx™ Series is a unified platform that accepts multiple interchangeable processing heads — conical milling, security screening, and hammer milling — on a single base unit. SMARTdetect™ technology in the control panel automatically recognizes which head is installed and adjusts RPM settings accordingly, eliminating setup time and ensuring correct configuration every run.

The SDx platform delivers significant advantages over single-function mills: lower capital cost by sharing one base between multiple processing functions, reduced floor space, lower maintenance cost, and faster head changeover between operations. The unique greaseless sanitary gearbox eliminates the risk of lubricant contamination and lowers operating temperatures to protect heat-sensitive powders. Available in production-scale and mid-size configurations.

• SDx™ U20x Comil® Head — High-performance conical milling head for the SDx platform. Capacity up to approximately 2,000 kg/hr depending on product and PSD target. Compatible with legacy U20 screens to protect existing tooling investment. High-Efficiency capacity screens with proprietary design deliver up to 50% average capacity increase over standard screens. Greaseless gearbox, ATEX/XP hazardous area package available, CIP and SIP capable.
• SDx™ S20x FlexSift Head — In-line security screening and delumping head for the SDx platform. Capacity up to 10,000 kg/hr. One S20x FlexSift replaces 3-7 traditional vibratory sifters at equivalent capacity — delivering 40-50% more capacity than comparable technologies through unique screen designs. Capable of meeting OELs below 1 microgram per cubic meter for contained pharmaceutical operations. Greaseless gearbox, ATEX/XP package available, SIP capable.
• SDx™ D6Ax FitzMill™ Head — Hammer milling head for the SDx platform, representing the integration of Fitzpatrick hammer mill technology into the Quadro SDx platform. Selected for APIs, polymer-based hot melt extrusions, and dry oral solid dosage powders requiring impact size reduction. Simple 4-piece chamber design provides 100% access to all product-contact surfaces for complete cleaning verification. Capacity up to 1,000 kg/hr. Cooling infeed chamber available for heat-sensitive products.
• SDx™ Series Mid-Size — Pilot-scale and mid-size version of the SDx platform for scale-up between laboratory and full production. Accepts the same interchangeable processing heads as the production-scale SDx, enabling true scale-up from SLS lab results through mid-size and directly to production without changing processing technology.

Scalable Lab System (SLS) — Laboratory & Pilot Scale

The bench-top laboratory and pilot-scale conical mill for process development, feasibility studies, and small-batch production. The SLS is directly scalable to the SDx mid-size and production-scale platforms — meaning process results developed at lab scale translate predictably to full production without requiring re-development. Accepts miniature versions of the same screens and impellers used on production equipment for true geometric similarity. Available with conical milling, security screening, and hammer milling heads. Ideal for pharmaceutical API development, nutraceutical formulation, food ingredient process development, and small-batch specialty chemical production.

Fine Grind — High-Energy Impact Mill

Quadro’s Fine Grind mill delivers precisely controlled fine and ultrafine particle size reduction — achieving the tightest particle size distributions and highest percentage within the target PSD of any equipment in the Quadro range. The Fine Grind uses a high-energy impact mechanism to reduce particles to the 10-400 micron range with exceptional PSD control. Particularly well-suited for pharmaceutical APIs requiring fine milling prior to blending or encapsulation, nutraceutical powders, specialty chemicals, and other materials where standard conical milling cannot achieve the required fineness. Available with ATEX and explosion-proof configurations.

FlexSift™ — Standalone Delumping & Security Screening

The standalone version of Quadro’s FlexSift inline screening and delumping system. Designed for efficient de-agglomeration and security screening of powders — removing lumps and foreign material contamination from powder streams without unwanted particle size reduction. High-capacity, compact in-line design replaces multiple vibratory sifters in a fraction of the floor space. Available with stainless steel construction and sanitary design options for pharmaceutical, food, and nutraceutical applications. ATEX and XP hazardous area configurations available.

Technology & Compliance

• ISO 9001:2015 Certified Manufacturing — All Quadro products designed and manufactured under a certified Quality Management System covering all processes and activities within Quadro Engineering
• cGMP Compliant Design — All equipment meets current Good Manufacturing Practice requirements for pharmaceutical and food-grade applications. Minimal product-contact parts, tool-free disassembly, and full surface access for cleaning verification
• ATEX Certified Mills — Complete selection of ATEX certified mills for Zone 0/20 (1GD) and Zone 1/21 (2GD) explosive atmosphere requirements. The most comprehensively certified mills in the industry for hazardous area operation
• CE Marked — All equipment destined for Europe is CE marked with EU Declaration of Conformity, certified to the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU, and Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive 2014/30/EU
• CIP & SIP Capable — Clean-in-place and sterilize-in-place options available on SDx Series and SLS platforms for pharmaceutical applications requiring validated cleaning procedures
• Contained & High-Potency Milling — Containment options available for high-potency API and OEB4/OEB5 materials, meeting OELs below 1 microgram per cubic meter on select models
• Waterloo Technology Centre — Quadro’s dedicated application development and testing centre in Waterloo, Ontario offers free feasibility testing, process development trials, and scale-up studies before equipment purchase

Industries Served

Quadro milling and particle processing equipment is trusted by leading manufacturers worldwide across demanding regulated and industrial processing environments:

• Pharmaceutical — Oral Solid Dosage (OSD) — Pre-compression powder conditioning, wet granulation milling, dry granulation sizing, tablet granule sizing, blend uniformity preparation, and de-agglomeration for tablet and capsule manufacturing lines. Materials include APIs, excipients, granules, and tablet blends
• Pharmaceutical — Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) — Fine milling and micronization of high-potency, heat-sensitive, and fragile API crystals. Contained milling for OEB4 and OEB5 materials. Achieves optimal PSD for bioavailability and formulation performance with maximum operator safety
• Nutraceuticals & Dietary Supplements — Vitamins, minerals, botanical extracts, protein powders, herbal preparations, and functional food ingredients requiring tight PSD control and sanitary construction
• Food & Beverage — Sugar grinding (from coarse to powdered), spice milling, dehydrated vegetable and fruit powder processing, starch sizing, cocoa processing, coffee grinding, and other food ingredient size reduction requiring sanitary construction and food-grade compliance
• Chemicals & Specialty Chemicals — Industrial chemicals, pigments, dyes, resins, catalysts, and specialty materials requiring reliable size reduction in abrasive and corrosive environments. ATEX certified equipment available for explosive dust or flammable solvent environments
• Cannabis & Hemp — Flower milling, extraction preparation, concentrate processing, and infused product ingredient sizing for cannabis and hemp manufacturers requiring consistent, repeatable particle size with contained processing options
• Cosmetics & Personal Care — Active ingredient milling, powder processing for makeup, skincare, and personal care formulations requiring precise PSD control and contamination-free processing

Services

• Engineering / Design — Application review, equipment sizing, screen and impeller selection, and process parameter development matched to your material characteristics, throughput targets, and regulatory requirements
• Trials / Test Lab — Free feasibility testing and process development at Quadro’s Waterloo Technology Centre before equipment purchase. Validates equipment selection, confirms PSD targets, and establishes process parameters for direct scale-up
• Repairs — Expert repair and rebuild services for Quadro Comil and milling equipment
• Troubleshooting — Remote and on-site troubleshooting support for milling performance and equipment issues

PARTS

• Spare Parts
• Sub-Assembly Replacements
• Mill Screens — All Aperture Sizes & Screen Types
• Impellers & Impeller Spacers
• Seals, Gaskets & Bearings
• Gearbox Components
• Drive & Motor Components
• High-Efficiency Capacity Screens

RENTALS

Quadro equipment is available for rental for short-term projects, process trials, scale-up studies, and seasonal or campaign production needs — allowing evaluation of conical milling technology in your own facility before capital commitment.