What is chain drive?

Chain drive is a method of transferring mechanical power from one place to another. Chain drives are widely used in vehicles such as bicycles and motorbikes, to transmit power to the wheels. It is also used in many other types of machinery such as industrial conveyors.

Typically, power is transmitted by a roller chain, called a driving chain or driving chain, passing through a chain gear, with the teeth of the gear meshing with the holes in the links of the chain. The gear is rotated, and this pulls the chain putting mechanical force into the system.

The chain is made up of a number of rigid links held together by pin joints to provide the flexibility needed to cover the driving wheels. Chains are mainly used to transmit speed and power from one shaft to another when the center distance between their shafts is short.

The chains also used in conveyors are usually block chains and consist of solid or laminated blocks connected by side plates and pins. The blocks mesh with the teeth on the sprocket. Depending on the material being moved, buckets, hooks or other devices are connected to the blocks.

Chain drive conveyor

Current types of chain drives

There are 3 types of chain drives in use today:
- Chain drive for pulling and lifting
- Conveyor chain drive
- Power chain transmission

1 - Chain drive for pulling and lifting

A device for lifting or lowering a load using a drum or forklift wheel wrapped with a rope or chain. It can be operated manually, electrically or pneumatically and can use chains, threads or ropes as the lifting means.

This type of drive is best known as an elevator, a carriage that is raised and lowered by a lifting mechanism. Most hoists are attached to their end by a lifting hook.

2 - Drive the conveyor chain

Conveyor chain is a type of chain specially developed for chain conveyor systems. It consists of a series of sliding bearings held together by connecting rods. Each bearing consists of a pin and a bushing for the chain roller to rotate.

Những dây xích này được sử dụng để liên tục nâng và chuyển tài vật liệu với tốc độ lên đến 2 m/s. Có hai loại xích băng tải.

- Xích loại có thể tháo rời hoặc móc nối. Loại xích tải này được sử dụng trong băng tải mà chiều dài giữa các bộ truyền lực ngắn.

- Xích kiểu khớp kín: Loại xích này bao gồm một nông và mắt xích và được đúc thành một khối duy nhất, sau đó dây xích được nhiệt luyện để mang lại độ bền cao.

Xích băng tải thường được làm bằng gang dễ uốn . Các chuỗi này không có đặc tính chạy trơn tru. Xích băng tải hoạt động với tốc độ chậm khoảng 0,8 đến 3 m/s.

3 - Power transmission chain drive

Transmission chains are used to transmit mechanical energy when the distance between shaft centers is short. These lines have provisions for effective lubrication. Transmission chains have the following three types.
- Blockchain or dust
- Dust roller chain
- Chain of silence

Advantages of chain drive

Here are some advantages of chain drives over belt drives:
- They can be used for both long and short distances
- Several shafts and driven from a single chain
- They are compact and have small overall dimensions
- Even during fire hazards, it does not face any bad problems.
- Temperature and environmental conditions do not affect their operation
- Initial tension is not required in the chain drive.
- They have very high efficiency (up to 96%)
- No slipping or creep during power transmission, ensuring perfect speed ratio.
- Chain drive is easy to install.
- Chain drive has low maintenance costs
- They can withstand abrasive conditions
- They can operate in wet conditions

Disadvantages of chain drive

- Chain drive systems cannot be used when sliding is required by the system
- It requires precise alignment relative to the belt drive
- The output of the chain drive is higher than the belt drive.
- Chain drive requires regular lubrication - Load capacity is less than gear drive
- Conventional chain drives vibrate due to the chord effect
- They are not suitable for shafts that are not parallel
- They cannot be used where precise movement is required - Chain drives require precise and careful mounting.
- They require slack adjustments like port equipment

Application of chain drive

Chain drives are used in many types of industrial applications, such as:
- Device widely used for power transmission in which the shafts are separated at a distance greater than that for which gears are used in practice.
- Making trusses and moving lifting materials
- Operation of hydraulic forklifts
- Increase or decrease the driver output speed by changing the gear ratio between the driver and the driven sprocket
- Overhead hoist
- Operate conveyor belt
- Chain drives are used in several industries for several purposes such as Transportation Industry, Agricultural Machinery, Material Handling Equipment, Building Construction.