Conveyor Chain - Designer Guide

1 SECTION 4. Conveyor Chain Designer Guide . 66 engineering excellence Designer Guide Introduction Selecting the right Chain for a given application is essential to Fig. 1. obtain long service life. This Guide has been developed for use with Renold Conveyor Chain to help in specifying the right Chain and lubrication for your Conveyor system. The significance of the Renold Conveyor Chain design is emphasised, followed by guidance on selection procedure. Detailed descriptions are given of the various methods of application in a variety of mechanical handling problems and under widely varying conditions.

2 The supporting material includes various reference tables and statistics. From the pyramids to the railway revolution, muscle-power of men and animals has moved goods and materials, but throughout history, machines, however primitive, have played some part, becoming more and more versatile. From the foregoing, it will be seen that a length of Chain is a series of plain journal bearings free to articulate in one plane. When a Chain articulates under load the friction between pin and 4. bush, whilst inherently low because of the smooth finish on the components, will tend to turn the bush in the inner plates and similarly the bearing pin in the outer plate.

3 To prevent this the bush and pin are force fitted into the Chain plates. Close limits of accuracy are applied to the diameters of plate holes, bushes and bearing pins, resulting in high torsional security and rigidity of the mating components. Similar standards of accuracy apply to the pitch of the holes in the Chain plates. To ensure optimum wear life the pin and bush are hardened. The bush outside diameter is hardened to contend with the load carrying pressure and gearing action, both of which are imparted by the Chain rollers.

4 Chain roller material and diameter can be varied and are selected to suit applicational conditions; guidance in roller selection is given on page 73. Materials used in Chain manufacture conform to closely controlled specifications. Manufacture of components is similarly controlled both Within the immediate past, mechanical handling has emerged as dimensionally and with regard to heat treatment. a manufacturing industry in its own right, of considerable size and with countless applications. This is a consequence of its For a given pitch size of transmission Chain , there is normally a coverage, which now ranges from the simplest store Conveyor given breaking load.

5 However, Conveyor Chain does not follow system to the largest flow line production layouts, and also this convention. For each breaking load, Conveyor Chain has includes the movement of personnel by lifts, escalators and multiple pitch sizes available. The minimum pitch is governed by platforms. the need for adequate sprocket tooth strength, the maximum pitch being dictated by plate and general Chain rigidity. The Amongst the most widely used types of handling equipment are normal maximum pitch can be exceeded by incorporating conveyors, elevators and similar assemblies.

6 These can take strengthening bushes between the link plates, and suitable gaps many forms, employing as their basic moving medium both in the sprocket teeth to clear these bushes. metallic and non-metallic components or a mixture of the two. For the great majority of applications Renold Conveyor Chain in its Chain TYPES. many variations, when fitted with suitable attachments, provides a highly efficient propulsion and/or carrying medium, having many There are two main types of Conveyor Chain - hollow bearing pin advantages over other types.

7 Roller Chain has been employed as and solid bearing pin. an efficient means of transmitting power since it was invented by Hans Renold in 1880. Later the principle was applied to Conveyor Chain giving the same advantages of precision, heat-treated Hollow Bearing Pin Chain components to resist wear, high strength to weight ratio and high Hollow pin Conveyor Chain offers the facility for fixing attachments mechanical efficiency. to the outer links using bolts through the hollow pin and attachment, this method of fixing being suitable for use in most Renold Conveyor Chain is made up of a series of inner and outer normal circumstances.

8 The attachments may be bolted up tight links. Each link comprises components manufactured from or be held in a free' manner. Bolted attachments should only materials best suited to their function in the Chain ; the various span the outer link as a bolted attachment spanning the inner parts are shown in Figure 1. An inner link consists of a pair of link would impair the free articulation of the Chain . inner plates which are pressed onto cylindrical bushes, whilst on each bush a free fitting roller is normally assembled.

9 Each outer link has a pair of outer plates which are pressed onto bearing pins and the ends of the pins are then rivetted over the plate. RENOLD. engineering excellence 67. Designer Guide Solid Bearing Pin Chain On other Chain or where only small quantities are involved, separate Solid bearing pin Chain , while having exactly the same gearing attachments are used, as shown in Fig. 2(b). These are usually dimensions in the BS series of Chain as the equivalent hollow pin welded to the Chain depending on the particular Chain series and Chain , , inside width and roller diameter, is more robust with the application.

10 Alternatively, (see Fig 2(c)), K attachments may be a higher breaking load and is recommended for use where more bolted to the Chain either through the hollow bearing pins, or by arduous conditions may be encountered. using special outer links with extended and screwed bearing pin ends. RENOLD. Fig. 2. Deep Link Chain OLD OLD. REN REN. Hollow and solid pin Chain has an optional side plate design known as deep link. This Chain 's side plates have greater depth than normal, thus providing a continuous carrying edge above the a b c 4 roller periphery.