Lesson 12:

Chain and
Sprocket
Roller Chains
• A roller chain consists of a series of short cylindrical rollers held together by
side links and it is driven by a toothed wheel called a sprocket.
• Roller chains are mainly used for transmission of mechanical power in many
different types of machinery, motorcycles, bicycles, etc. and they are also
used in conveyors.
• In general, roller chain drives provide simple, reliable, and efficient means of
power transmission.
 A sprocket is a
toothed wheel
upon which a
chain rides.
Contrary to
popular opinion,
a sprocket is not
a gear.
 Chain
Construc
tion
 Chain
Construc
tion

Chains have a surprising number of parts. The roller turns

freely on the bushing, which is attached on each end to
the inner plate. A pin passes through the bushing and is attached
at each end to the outer plate. Bicycle chains omit the bushing,
instead using the circular ridge formed around the pin hole of
the inner plate.
Roller Chains
 A typical roller chain consist of two types of links in alternating order.

 The first type is inner links which have two inner plates held together by two
sleeves upon which rotate two rollers.

 The second type is the outer links which consist of two outer plates held together
by pins passing through the sleeves of the inner links.

 The two ends of a chain are held together using a "locking link" which is similar
to the outer links but one of its plates can be removed.
The basic features of
chain drives include:

 Constant speed ratio (since no

slippage or creep is involved).

 Long life (much longer than that of

belts).

 The ability to drive several sprockets

from a single source of power (they
can drive sprockets on both sides of
the chain allowing some sprockets to
rotate in reversed direction, if
needed).
Chain
Dimensions
Chain types are identified by number; ie. a number 40 chain. The rightmost digit is 0 for chain of the
standard dimensions; 1 for lightweight chain; and 5 for rollerless bushing chain. The digits to the left
indicate the pitch of the chain in eighths of an inch. For example, a number 40 chain would have a pitch
of four-eighths of an inch, or 1/2", and would be of the standard dimensions in width, roller diameter, etc.
Chain Dimensions
• The roller diameter is "nearest binary fraction" (32nd of an inch) to
5/8ths of the pitch; pin diameter is half of roller diameter. The width of
the chain, for "standard" (0 series) chain, is the nearest binary fraction
to 5/8ths of the pitch; for narrow chains (1 series) width is 41% of the
pitch. Sprocket thickness is approximately 85-90% of the roller width.

• Plate thickness is 1/8th of the pitch, except "extra-heavy" chain, which

is designated by the suffix H, and is 1/32" thicker.
 ANSI Standard Chain Dimensions
Sprocket
Chain No. Pitch Roller Diameter Roller Width Working Load
thickness
25 1/4" 0.130" 1/8" 0.110" 140 lbs
35 3/8" 0.200" 3/16" 0.168" 480 lbs
40 1/2" 5/16" 5/16" 0.284" 810 lbs
41 1/2" 0.306" 1/4" 0.227" 500 lbs
50 5/8" 0.400" 3/8" 0.343" 1400 lbs
60 3/4" 15/32" 1/2" 0.459" 1950 lbs
80 1" 5/8" 5/8" 0.575" 3300 lbs
The standard ISO sizes of roller chains follow both the British and the American standards, so chains dimension increments are in inches.
The table gives the standard ISO roller chain sizes where the size is identified using a chain number code. (chain numbers with "B" follow
the British standard, chain numbers with "A" follow the American standard, "-1" means single strand chain)
Selecting a Chain
• Two factors determine the selection of a chain; the working load and
the rpm of the smaller sprocket. The working load sets a lower limit on
pitch, and the speed sets an upper limit.

Maximum Pitch = (900 ÷ rpm ) 2/3

• The smaller the pitch, the less noise, wear, and mechanical losses will
be experienced.
Sample Problems
1. Find the required chain no. base on ANSI standard of the machine
sprocket rotates at maximum rotation of 1750 RPM

2
900 3
Maximum Pitch = (900 ÷ rpm ) 2/3 𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑐h =( )
1750

𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑐h =0.6419

5
𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑐h =
8

𝐶h𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑛𝑜 . 50
Sprockets

There are four types of sprocket;

• Type A: Plain Plate sprockets

• Type B: Hub on one side
• Type C: Hub on both sides
• Type D: Detachable hub
Standards in Chain and Sprocket

 The minimum number of teeth in a sprocket should 17 unless the drive is operating at a very low speed under
100rpm.

 The maximum speed ratio should be 7.0 although higher ratios are feasible. Two or more stages of reduction
can be used to achieve higher ratio.

 The center distance between the sprocket axes should be approximately 30 to 50 pitches ( 30 to 50 times the
pitch of the chain )

 The arc of contact of the chain on the smaller sprocket should not be smaller than 120 deg.

 The larger sprocket should normally have no more than 120 teeth.
The larger sprocket should normally have no more than 120 teeth.

Formulae:

1. Pitch diameter of the small sprocket 4. Length of the roller chain

L=2 +

D1 =
P = pitch ( mm or inch )
N = number of teeth

2. Pitch diameter of the bigger sprocket

D2 =

3. center distance between the sprocket.

c=
 Practice Problems
1. Due to the high cost of electric power, high maintenance cost and high investment of air-conditioning units, air
circulating unit fans are becoming popular particular in rural areas. A restaurant owner has decided to install a
used fan that could deliver 18,000 cfm of air when running at 320rpm. The fan is estimated to enquire at let
4.5hp to deliver the volume of air needed. The owner has also a second –hand motor rated 5hp and 1750 rpm.
These data are all that the owner could provide you. He would like to use a standard chain and sprocket for the
transmission. Determine the recommended, pitch diameter of the small and larger sprocket and the length of
the chain using pitch of ½ and 18 teeth to the small sprocket and the center distance is 17 inches.

2. Find the center of distance of the sprocket if the pitch of the roller chain is 5 with 12 teeth and 60 teeth and
with a length of 150
 Due to the high cost of electric power, high maintenance cost and high investment of air-
conditioning units, air circulating unit fans are becoming popular particular in rural areas. A
restaurant owner has decided to install a used fan that could deliver 18,000 cfm of air when

Solution no. 1 running at 320rpm. The fan is estimated to enquire at let 4.5hp to deliver the volume of air
needed. The owner has also a second –hand motor rated 5hp and 1750 rpm. These data are all
that the owner could provide you. He would like to use a standard chain and sprocket for the
transmission. Determine the recommended, pitch diameter of the small and larger sprocket and
Pitch diameter of the small sprocket the length of the chain using pitch of ½ and 18 teeth to the small sprocket and the center
distance is 17 inches.

D1 =
Length of the roller chain

D1 = L=2 +

D1 = 2.88” or 3”

Pitch diameter of the larger sprocket

D2 = 𝑖𝑛𝑐h𝑒𝑠 𝑖 𝑛 /𝑚𝑚
D2 = 𝐶 𝑃 = 𝐿𝑖𝑛 / 𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑐h 𝑖𝑛
𝑚𝑚 𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑐h

𝑁 2=18 ( 1750
320 )
=98.4375 D2 = 𝐶 𝑃 = 34 𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑐h𝑒𝑠
 Due to the high cost of electric power, high maintenance cost and high investment of air-
conditioning units, air circulating unit fans are becoming popular particular in rural areas. A
restaurant owner has decided to install a used fan that could deliver 18,000 cfm of air when

Solution no. 1 running at 320rpm. The fan is estimated to enquire at let 4.5hp to deliver the volume of air
needed. The owner has also a second –hand motor rated 5hp and 1750 rpm. These data are all
that the owner could provide you. He would like to use a standard chain and sprocket for the
transmission. Determine the recommended, pitch diameter of the small and larger sprocket and
the length of the chain using pitch of ½ and 18 teeth to the small sprocket and the center
Length of the roller chain distance is 17 inches.

L=2 +
L = 2 (34) +

L = 131.32 pitches

L = 131.32 pitches (0.5 in/pitch)

𝐼𝑛/𝑚𝑚
𝐶 𝑃 = 𝐿𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑐h𝑒𝑠/𝑚𝑚/ 𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑐h 𝑖𝑛 L = 65.66 inches or 66 inches
𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑐h

𝐶 𝑃 = 34 𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑐h𝑒𝑠
 Solution no. 2
Find the center of distance of the sprocket if the pitch of the
roller chain is 5 with 12 teeth and 60 teeth and with a length of
150

c=

c=

c=