Chain drive

Chain drive is a way of t ransmit t ing mechanical power from one place to anot her. It is oft en
used to convey power to t he wheels of a vehicle, part icularly bicycles and motorcycles. It is also
used in a wide variet y of machines besides vehicles.

Roller chain and sprocket

Most oft en, t he power is conveyed by a roller chain, known as t he drive chain or transmission
chain,[1] passing over a sprocket gear, wit h t he t eet h of t he gear meshing wit h t he holes in t he
links of t he chain. The gear is t urned, and t his pulls t he chain put t ing mechanical force into t he
syst em. Anot her t ype of drive chain is t he Morse chain, invent ed by t he Morse Chain Company of
It haca, New York, Unit ed St at es. This has invert ed t eet h.[2]

Somet imes t he power is out put by simply rot at ing t he chain, which can be used to lift or drag
object s. In ot her sit uat ions, a second gear is placed and t he power is recovered by at t aching
shaft s or hubs to t his gear. Though drive chains are oft en simple oval loops, t hey can also go
around corners by placing more t han t wo gears along t he chain; gears t hat do not put power into
t he syst em or t ransmit it out are generally known as idler-wheels. By varying t he diamet er of t he
input and out put gears wit h respect to each ot her, t he gear rat io can be alt ered. For example,
when t he bicycle pedals' gear rot at e once, it causes t he gear t hat drives t he wheels to rot at e
more t han one revolut ion. Duplex chains are anot her t ype of chain which are essent ially t wo
chains joined side by side which allow for more power and torque to be t ransmit t ed.

History

The oldest known illustration of an endless power-transmitting chain drive, from Su Song's book of 1092 AD, describing his
clock tower of Kaifeng

Sketch of pin-jointed chain by Leonardo da Vinci

The oldest known applicat ion of a chain drive appears in t he Polybolos, described by t he Greek
engineer Philon of Byzant ium (3rd cent ury BC). Two flat -linked chains were connect ed to a
windlass, which by winding back and fort h would automat ically fire t he machine's arrows unt il it s
magazine was empt y.[3] Alt hough t he device did not t ransmit power cont inuously since t he chains
"did not t ransmit power from shaft to shaft , and hence t hey were not in t he direct line of
ancest ry of t he chain-drive proper",[4] t he Greek design marks t he beginning of t he history of t he
chain drive since "no earlier inst ance of such a cam is known, and none as complex is known unt il
t he 16t h cent ury."[3] It is here t hat t he flat -link chain, oft en at t ribut ed to Leonardo da Vinci,[5]
act ually made it s first appearance."[3]

The first cont inuous as well as t he first endless chain drive was originally depict ed in t he writ t en
horological t reat ise of t he Song Dynast y by t he medieval Chinese polymat h mat hemat ician and
ast ronomer Su Song (1020-1101 AD), who used it to operat e t he armillary sphere of his
ast ronomical clock tower, which is t he first ast ronomical clock,[6] as well as t he clock jack
figurines present ing t he t ime of day by mechanically banging gongs and drums.[7] The chain drive
it self convert ed rot ary to reclinear mot ion and was given power via t he hydraulic works of Su's
wat er clock t ank and wat erwheel, t he lat t er which act ed as a large gear.[8]

Alternatives

Belt drive

Most chain drive syst ems use t eet h to t ransfer mot ion bet ween t he chain and t he rollers. This
result s in lower frict ional losses t han belt drive syst ems, which oft en rely on frict ion to t ransfer
mot ion.

Alt hough chains can be made st ronger t han belt s, t heir great er mass increases drive t rain inert ia.

Drive chains are most oft en made of met al, while belt s are oft en rubber, plast ic, uret hane, or
ot her subst ances. If t he drive chain is heavier t han an equivalent drive belt , t he syst em will have
a higher inert ia. Theoret ically, t his can lead to a great er flywheel effect , however in pract ice t he
belt or chain inert ia oft en makes up a small proport ion of t he overall drivet rain inert ia.

One problem wit h roller chains is t he variat ion in speed, or surging, caused by t he accelerat ion and
decelerat ion of t he chain as it goes around t he sprocket link by link. It st art s as soon as t he pit ch
line of t he chain cont act s t he first toot h of t he sprocket . This cont act occurs at a point below
t he pit ch circle of t he sprocket . As t he sprocket rot at es, t he chain is raised up to t he pit ch circle
and is t hen dropped down again as sprocket rot at ion cont inues. Because of t he fixed pit ch
lengt h, t he pit ch line of t he link cut s across t he chord bet ween t wo pit ch point s on t he
sprocket , remaining in t his posit ion relat ive to t he sprocket unt il t he link exit s t he sprocket . This
rising and falling of t he pit ch line is what causes chordal effect or speed variat ion.[9]

In ot her words, convent ional roller chain drives suffer t he pot ent ial for vibrat ion, as t he effect ive
radius of act ion in a chain and sprocket combinat ion const ant ly changes during revolut ion
("Chordal act ion"[10]). If t he chain moves at const ant speed, t hen t he shaft s must accelerat e and
decelerat e const ant ly. If one sprocket rot at es at a const ant speed, t hen t he chain (and probably
all ot her sprocket s t hat it drives) must accelerat e and decelerat e const ant ly. This is usually not
an issue wit h many drive syst ems; however, most motorcycles are fit t ed wit h a rubber bushed
rear wheel hub to virt ually eliminat e t his vibrat ion issue. Toot hed belt drives are designed to limit
t his issue by operat ing at a const ant pit ch radius[11]).

Chains are oft en narrower t han belt s, and t his can make it easier to shift t hem to larger or smaller
gears in order to vary t he gear rat io. Mult i-speed bicycles wit h derailleurs make use of t his. Also,
t he more posit ive meshing of a chain can make it easier to build gears t hat can increase or shrink
in diamet er, again alt ering t he gear rat io. However, some newer synchronous belt s claim to have
"equivalent capacit y to roller chain drives in t he same widt h".[12]

Bot h can be used to move object s by at t aching pocket s, bucket s, or frames to t hem; chains are
oft en used to move t hings vert ically by holding t hem in frames, as in indust rial toast ers, while
belt s are good at moving t hings horizont ally in t he form of conveyor belt s. It is not unusual for
t he syst ems to be used in combinat ion; for example t he rollers t hat drive conveyor belt s are
t hemselves oft en driven by drive chains.

Drive shafts

Drive shaft s are anot her common met hod used to move mechanical power around t hat is
somet imes evaluat ed in comparison to chain drive; in part icular belt drive vs chain drive vs shaft
drive is a key design decision for most motorcycles. Drive shaft s t end to be tougher and more
reliable t han chain drive, but t he bevel gears have far more frict ion t han a chain.
For t his reason
virt ually all high-performance motorcycles use chain drive, wit h shaft -driven arrangement s
generally used for non-sport ing machines. Toot hed-belt drives are used for some (non-sport ing)
models.

Use in vehicles
Bicycles

Chain drive was t he main feat ure which different iat ed t he safet y bicycle int roduced in 1885, wit h
it s t wo equal-sized wheels, from t he direct -drive penny-fart hing or "high wheeler" t ype of
bicycle. The popularit y of t he chain-driven safet y bicycle brought about t he demise of t he
penny-fart hing, and is st ill a basic feat ure of bicycle design today.

Automobiles

1906 Austin- plan view

1906 Austin- top view

1920s Mack truck

Many early cars used a chain drive syst em, which was a popular alt ernat ive to t he Syst ème
Panhard (which used a rigid Hot chkiss drive syst em wit h universal joint s). A common design was
using a different ial locat ed near t he cent re of t he car, which t hen t ransferred drive to t he rear
axle via roller chains. This syst em allowed for a relat ively simple design which could
accommodat e t he vert ical axle movement associat ed wit h t he rear suspension syst em. Chain
drive also result ed in less unsprung mass at t he rear wheels t han t he Hot chkiss drive (where t he
different ial and half of t he driveshaft cont ribut es to t he unsprung mass), result ing in great er
effect iveness of t he rear suspension and t herefore a smoot her ride.

Frazer Nash were st rong proponent s of t his syst em using one chain per gear select ed by dog
clut ches. The Frazer Nash chain drive syst em, (designed for t he GN Cyclecar Company by
Archibald Frazer-Nash and Henry Ronald Godfrey) was very effect ive, allowing ext remely fast
gear select ions. The Frazer Nash (or GN) t ransmission syst em provided t he basis for many
"special" racing cars of t he 1920s and 1930s. The last popular chain drive automobile was t he
Honda S600 of t he 1960s.[13]

Many modern piston engines use a roller chain (called a "t iming chain") to drive t he camshaft (s),
replacing t he previous designs of pushrods or toot hed t iming belt s. For t his applicat ion, chains
last longer, but are oft en harder to replace, as t hey must be enclosed in a space into which
lubricat ing oil can be int roduced.

The t ransfer case in a car or light t ruck is anot her applicat ion where chain drives are used.

Motorcycles

Chain drive versus belt drive or use of a driveshaft is a fundament al design decision in motorcycle
design; nearly all motorcycles use one of t hese t hree designs.

See also

Bicycle chain

Chain pump

Chainsaw

Gear

References

1. Machinery's Handbook (1996), pp. 2337–2361.

2. First Directory Ltd. "First Directory Ltd - 1st for business information" (https://web.archive.org/web/200
71127073808/http://www.1stdirectory.com/Companies/48812_Cross_and_Morse.htm) .
1stdirectory.com. Archived from the original (http://www.1stdirectory.com/Companies/48812_Cross_an
d_Morse.htm) on 2007-11-27. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
 3. Werner Soedel, Vernard Foley: Ancient Catapults, Scientific American, Vol. 240, No. 3 (March 1979),
p.124-125

4. Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Part 2, Mechanical Engineering.
Cave Books, Ltd. Page 109.

5. In the 16th century, Leonardo da Vinci made sketches of what appears to be the first iron pin-jointed
chain. These chains were probably designed to transmit pulling, not wrapping, power because they
consist only of plates and pins and have metal fittings. However, da Vinci's sketch does show a roller
bearing. Tsubakimoto Chain Co., ed. (1997). The Complete Guide to Chain (http://chain-guide.com/brea
ks/brief-history-of-chain.html) . Kogyo Chosaki Publishing Co., Ltd. p. 240. ISBN 0-9658932-0-0. p.
211. Retrieved 17 May 2006.

6. "Su Song's Clock" (http://www.thenagain.info/WebChron/China/SongClock.html) .

7. Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Part 2, Mechanical Engineering.
Cave Books, Ltd. Page 111, 165, 456–457.

8. 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.

9. This is because there is a pitch length in chains, and they can only bend at the pitch point. Tsubakimoto
Chain Co., ed. (1997). The Complete Guide to Chain (http://chain-guide.com/basics/2-2-1-chordal-actio
n.html) . Kogyo Chosaki Publishing Co., Ltd. p. 240. ISBN 0-9658932-0-0. Retrieved 24 March 2020.

10. 2.2.1 Chordal Action: You will find that the position in which the chain and the sprockets engage
fluctuates, and the chain vibrates along with this fluctuation. Tsubakimoto Chain Co., ed. (1997). The
Complete Guide to Chain (http://chain-guide.com/basics/2-2-1-chordal-action.html) . Kogyo Chosaki
Publishing Co., Ltd. p. 240. ISBN 0-9658932-0-0. Retrieved 24 March 2020.

11. But in toothed-belt systems, chordal action occurs by circle and chord, the same as chains. Generally
this effect is less than 0.6 percent, but when combined with the deflection of the pulley center and
errors of belt pitch or pulley pitch, it can amount to 2 to 3 percent. Tsubakimoto Chain Co., ed. (1997).
The Complete Guide to Chain (http://chain-guide.com/basics/2-2-1-chordal-action.html) . Kogyo
Chosaki Publishing Co., Ltd. p. 240. ISBN 0-9658932-0-0. Retrieved 24 March 2020.

12. "Poly Chain GT Carbon Belts - Gates Corporation" (http://www.gates.com/products/industrial/industrial-

belts/synchronous-belts/poly-chain-gt-carbon-belts) . gates.com.

13. "Honda Packs Big Ideas Into the Small S600" (https://petrolicious.com/articles/big-ideas-in-small-honda
-s600) . Petrolicious. Retrieved 16 November 2019.

Bibliography

Oberg, Erik; Jones, Franklin D.; Horton, Holbrook L.; Ryffel, Henry H. (1996), Green, Robert E.;
McCauley, Christopher J. (eds.), Machinery's Handbook (25t h ed.), New York: Indust rial Press,
 ISBN 978-0-8311-2575-2, OCLC 473691581 (ht t ps://www.worldcat .org/oclc/473691581) .

Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Chemistry and Chemical
Technology, Part 2, Mechanical Engineering. Taipei: Caves Books Lt d.

Sclat er, Neil. (2011). "Chain and belt devices and mechanisms." Mechanisms and Mechanical
Devices Sourcebook. 5t h ed. New York: McGraw Hill. pp. 262–277. ISBN 9780071704427.
Drawings and designs of various drives.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media relat ed to Drive chains.

The Complet e Guide to Chain (ht t p://chain-guide.com/)

Motorcycle primary and drive chains explained (ht t p://victorylibrary.com/brit /chain-c.ht m)

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