Chains and sprockets are another way to transmit rotational power from a prime mover to a driven piece of equipment.

Certainly the most common use that comes to mind for a chain and sprocket is the bicycle. Another common use is the mechanism on many garage door openers.

The chain and sprocket are the "older" method of power transmission when compared to the rubber "V" belt. But this method has it's place. Transmission is "positive".... there's no "slip" with a chain and sprocket. It's a way to "synchronize" more than one conveyor. Simply connect the conveyors together with a chain and sprocket combination with a 1 to 1 ration and the second conveyor will run at precisely the same speed as the first.

Chains and sprockets are usually associated with power requirements that turn "slower". What's "slower"? Well, we can certainly run belt drives at 3600 RPM, and even faster, but even the smaller chain drives... like a size 40 are best used in applications where the linear speeds are less than 50 FPM. Bear in mind there ARE high speed applications where chains are dominant such as motorcycle wheel drives that may operate at speeds of 500 FPM or more and "timing" chains on automobile engines where the speed may be 200 FPM or more. So high speed applications exist where "chain is king" but the slower speeds are the norm.

Another consideration is lubrication. Chains and sprockets need some type of lubrication. Even though the chain has a "rolling" member, steel against steel will cause some problems in most applications unless there is some type of lubrication. That means in a food processing application we've got another potential for contamination and that's simply not a preferred alternative.

Roller chains come in sizes from #10 (used in office equipment) to 240 (the largest "standard" chain). When it comes to strength however, the largest, practical single strand roller chain had a tensile strength of 500 tons.

A.R.& E. is NOT a stocking distributor for roller, link or conveyor chain. This information is here to help you be an informed consumer. We do have sources of chain if a project we work on requires us to supply a true chain drive.

If you're looking for some information on chain, use this link to U.S. Tsubaki and look around. They have everything from CAD drawings to specs and application information. We are not necessarily recommending their product, but they have a nice and easy to understand website. If our personnel can be of additional assistance, please contact someone on our sales team.