Chain drive
Chain drive is a way of
Most often, the power is conveyed by a roller chain, known as the drive chain or transmission chain,[1] 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. Another type of drive chain is the Morse chain, invented by the Morse Chain Company of Ithaca, New York, United States. This has inverted teeth.[2]
Sometimes the power is output by simply rotating the chain, which can be used to lift or drag objects. In other situations, a second gear is placed and the power is recovered by attaching shafts or hubs to this gear. Though drive chains are often simple oval loops, they can also go around corners by placing more than two gears along the chain; gears that do not put power into the system or transmit it out are generally known as
History
The oldest known application of a chain drive appears in the
The first continuous as well as the first endless chain drive was originally depicted in the written
Alternatives
Belt drive
Most chain drive systems use teeth to transfer motion between the chain and the rollers. This results in lower frictional losses than belt drive systems, which often rely on friction to transfer motion.
Although chains can be made stronger than belts, their greater mass increases drive train inertia.
Drive chains are most often made of metal, while belts are often rubber, plastic, urethane, or other substances. If the drive chain is heavier than an equivalent drive belt, the system will have a higher inertia. Theoretically, this can lead to a greater flywheel effect, however in practice the belt or chain inertia often makes up a small proportion of the overall drivetrain inertia.
One problem with roller chains is the variation in speed, or surging, caused by the acceleration and deceleration of the chain as it goes around the sprocket link by link. It starts as soon as the pitch line of the chain contacts the first tooth of the sprocket. This contact occurs at a point below the pitch circle of the sprocket. As the sprocket rotates, the chain is raised up to the pitch circle and is then dropped down again as sprocket rotation continues. Because of the fixed pitch length, the pitch line of the link cuts across the chord between two pitch points on the sprocket, remaining in this position relative to the sprocket until the link exits the sprocket. This rising and falling of the pitch line is what causes chordal effect or speed variation.[9]
In other words, conventional roller chain drives suffer the potential for vibration, as the effective radius of action in a chain and sprocket combination constantly changes during revolution ("Chordal action"[10]). If the chain moves at constant speed, then the shafts must accelerate and decelerate constantly. If one sprocket rotates at a constant speed, then the chain (and probably all other sprockets that it drives) must accelerate and decelerate constantly. This is usually not an issue with many drive systems; however, most motorcycles are fitted with a rubber bushed rear wheel hub to virtually eliminate this vibration issue. Toothed belt drives are designed to limit this issue by operating at a constant pitch radius[11]).
Chains are often narrower than belts, and this can make it easier to shift them to larger or smaller gears in order to vary the gear ratio. Multi-speed bicycles with
Both can be used to move objects by attaching pockets, buckets, or frames to them; chains are often used to move things vertically by holding them in frames, as in industrial toasters, while belts are good at moving things horizontally in the form of conveyor belts. It is not unusual for the systems to be used in combination; for example the rollers that drive conveyor belts are themselves often driven by drive chains.
Drive shafts
Drive shafts are another common method used to move mechanical power around that is sometimes evaluated in comparison to chain drive; in particular belt drive vs chain drive vs shaft drive is a key design decision for most motorcycles. Drive shafts tend to be tougher and more reliable than chain drive, but the bevel gears have far more friction than a chain. For this reason virtually all high-performance motorcycles use chain drive, with shaft-driven arrangements generally used for non-sporting machines. Toothed-belt drives are used for some (non-sporting) models.
Use in vehicles
Bicycles
Chain drive was the main feature which differentiated the
Automobiles
Many early cars used a chain drive system, which was a popular alternative to the
Frazer Nash were strong proponents of this system using one chain per gear selected by dog clutches.[citation needed] Their chain drive system, (designed for the GN Cyclecar Company) was very effective, allowing for fast gear selections. This system was used in many racing cars of the 1920s and 1930s.[citation needed] The last popular chain drive automobile was the Honda S600 of the 1960s.[13]
Motorcycles
Chain drive versus
See also
- Bicycle chain
- Chain pump
- Chainsaw
- Gear
- Rolling mills[14]
References
- ^ Machinery's Handbook (1996), pp. 2337–2361.
- ^ First Directory Ltd. "First Directory Ltd - 1st for business information". 1stdirectory.com. Archived from the original on 2007-11-27. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
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has generic name (help) - ^ a b c Werner Soedel, Vernard Foley: Ancient Catapults, Scientific American, Vol. 240, No. 3 (March 1979), p.124-125
- ^ Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Part 2, Mechanical Engineering. Cave Books, Ltd. Page 109.
- ISBN 0-9658932-0-0. p. 211. Retrieved 17 May 2006.
- ^ "Su Song's Clock".
- ^ Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Part 2, Mechanical Engineering. Cave Books, Ltd. Page 111, 165, 456–457.
- ^ Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2, Mechanical Engineering. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd, pp. 445 & 448, 469–471.
- ISBN 0-9658932-0-0. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
- ISBN 0-9658932-0-0. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
- ISBN 0-9658932-0-0. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
- ^ "Poly Chain GT Carbon Belts - Gates Corporation". gates.com.
- ^ "Honda Packs Big Ideas Into the Small S600". Petrolicious. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ M, Saif (August 17, 2021). "CHAIN DRIVES AND TYPES OF CHAINS". The Engineers post. Archived from the original on 2021-04-21.
Bibliography
- Oberg, Erik; Jones, Franklin D.; Horton, Holbrook L.; Ryffel, Henry H. (1996), Green, Robert E.; McCauley, Christopher J. (eds.), OCLC 473691581.
- Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 2, Mechanical Engineering. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd.
- Sclater, Neil. (2011). "Chain and belt devices and mechanisms." Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook. 5th ed. New York: McGraw Hill. pp. 262–277. ISBN 9780071704427. Drawings and designs of various drives.