What Is A Drive Chain?
A chain drive is one way of transferring mechanical power from one place to another place. Chain drive is using widely in vehicles like bicycles and motorcycles, to transfer power to the wheels. It is also used in a wide variety of machines.
Most often, roller chain conveying power, known as the drive chain or transmission chain, passing over a sprocket gear, with the teeth of the gear meshing with the holes in the links of the chain. The gear is turned, and this pulls the chain putting mechanical force into the system.
The chains are made up of a number of rigid links that are hinged together by pin joints to provide the flexibility needed to wrap driving and driven wheels.
These wheels have special profile teeth and fit the corresponding recess in the chain link. Toothed wheels are known as sprocket wheels or bus sprockets. Sprockets and chains are thus constrained to move together without sliding and ensure the correct velocity ratio.
Chains are mostly used to transfer speed and power from one shaft to another when the center distance between their shafts is short such as bicycles, motorcycles, agricultural machinery, conveyors, rolling mills, road rollers, etc.
The chain can also be used for long center distances of up to 8 metros. Chains are used for velocities up to 25 m/s and power up to 110 kW. In some cases, high-power transmission is also possible.
The chains also used in conveyor belts are commonly blockchains and consist of solid or laminated blocks connected by side plates and pins. The blocks engage with teeth on sprocket wheels. Depending on the material being moved, buckets, hooks, or other devices are connected to the blocks.
The working principle of the drive chain
Drive chains are used in the transmission of motion from a power source to a driven wheel. These devices are usually made from rigid links with pin joints that allow them to wrap around a wheel without deforming or twisting.
The sprocket is the driving wheel that fits onto a shaft. It is held in place by a key, and a chain connects the two sprockets. It transfers power and speed. Some common applications of drive chains include bicycles, motorcycles, rollers, rolling mills, and road rollers.
The standard series of roller chains are the most common drive chain. Its power rating capacity covers a wide range of drive load requirements. Multiple-strand roller chains offer increased power capacity without increasing the chain pitch or linear speed. Another type of drive chain is the silent or inverted tooth chain. This type of drive is made of multiple toothed link plates and has flexibly independent of each pitch.
A drive chain may have more than one gear. This increases its power capacity. They are often a simple oval loop and contain more than one gear. The second gear recovers power from the shaft or hub. It is often called a double-strand chain. The third gear is called a dual-strand chain, and it is a multi-strand drive chain.
In a drive chain, the chain conveys the power. The chain passes over a sprocket gear which transfers the power and causes the wheels to move. The sprockets have teeth that fit in the holes in the chain links. Now, as the gear is turned, it pulls the chain, thereby putting force into the system. This is how chain drive works.