Conveyor Chain Selection

A careful assessment of the conditions surrounding a conveyor is necessary for accurate conveyor chain selection. This section discusses the basic considerations required. Roller chains are often used for light to moderate material handling applications. Environmental conditions may require the use of special materials, platting or coatings. Please contact Hitachi engineering personnel for assistance. Basic Information 1. Type of chain conveyor. 2. Conveyor layout including sprocket locations, inclines (if any), and the number of strands of chain (N) to be used. 3. Amount of material (M lbs/ft) and type of material to be conveyed. 4. Estimated weight of chain, slats or attachments (if any), and other moving parts of the conveyor attached to the chain (W lbs/ft). 5. Linear Chain speed (S ft/min). Also obtain Speed Factor from Table 2. 6. Environment in which the chain will operate, including temperature, corrosion circumstance, lubrication condition etc. Determine friction coefficient f (Table 1). Perform the following steps to select chain size: Step 1: Estimate the Chain Tension Use the formula below to estimate conveyor pull (Pest), and chain tension (Test). Note: For this step the chain weight is 0 however the weight of slats and other moving parts of the conveyor should be estimated for the variable W. Pest = (M + W) * f * Speed Factor and Test = Pest / N Note: that f is the friction coefficient (see Table 1). Vertical Conveyor Step 2: Make a Tentative Chain Selection Using the Test value make a tentative chain selection. The rated working load should be greater than Test. Normally the chain is selected based on desired pitch to achieve a specific attachment spacing. For example, if slats are to be bolted to K type attachment every 1.5 inches, we may use a 1/2 pitch chain (i.e. 40) every 3rd, or a 3/4 pitch chain (i.e. 60) every 2nd, or a 1 1/ 2 pitch chain (i.e. 120 or C2060H) every pitch. The selected chain should have a rated working load greater than the calculated Test. Step 3: Calculate Actual Conveyor Pull (P) From the layouts on the right use the appropriate formula to calculate conveyor pull (P). Note that a conveyor may possess a combination of horizontal, vertical, and inclined sections. In this case use the appropriate formula on each individual section remembering to add together in turn the tensions calculated for each section. 116 Horizontal Conveyor

C P = (2.1W + M)*f*C

Incline Conveyor

B P=[(M+W)*(f*C*Cos+C*Sin)] + 1.1W(f*C*Cos C*Sin)

P = [(M +W)*C] + 1/2 Take up Force Note: C is the center distance in feet in the above formulas

Hitachi Maxco, Ltd. Kennesaw, GA

Conveyor Chain Selection

Table 1: Coefficient of Friction (f)
Type of Carrie r Standard Rolle r Large Rolle r Top Rolle r Chain Sliding on Ste e l Dry .21 .12 .09 .33 Lubricate d .14 .08 .06 .24

Step 4: Calculate Maximum Chain Tension (T) The maximum chain tension equals the conveyor pull (P) divided by the number of chain strands carrying the load time a multi-strand factor (MSF) which takes into account uneven loading. T = [(P/N)]*(MSF)*(SF)*(TF) Note: SF = Speed Factor given in Table 2. MSF = Multi-strand Factor given in Table 3. TF = Temperature Factor given in Table 4. N = Number of Strands.

Table 2: Speed Factor (SF)

Chain Spe e d 0 to 50 ft/min 50 to 100 ft/min 100 to 150 ft/min 150 to 230 ft/min 230 to 300 ft/min 300 to 350 ft/min 350 to 400 ft/min More than 400 ft/min

Spe e d Factor 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 2.2 2.8 3.2 Contact Hitachi

Step 5: Check the Rated Working Load of Chain Next, check that the Rated Working Load of the chain selected is greater than the calculated maximum chain tension (T) determined above. If the Rated Working Load is greater, the chain may be used. If it is lower, select a stronger chain. If no Rated Working Load is given for the chain, contact the Hitachi product engineering department. Step 6: Check the Allowable Roller Load of Chain For chains that roll instead of slide check the Allowable Roller Load in the table below. Downward load per roller should not exceed the values given in the table. Roller Load may be calculated from: Roller Load = Wr/Nr Note: Wr is the total weight carried by rollers. Nr is the number of rollers supporting the weight. Table 5: Allowable Roller Load
Chain Numbe r 40 50 60 80 100 120 140 Ste e l Standard Rolle r 33 44 66 120 180 260 300 430 33 44 66 120 180 260 430 Ste e l Large Rolle r 143 220 350 590 880 1,320 2,160 Plastic Large Rolle r 44 66 110 200 290

Table 3: Multi-Strand Factor (MSF) Numbe r of Strands 1 2 3 4 More Than 4 Multi-Strand Factor 1.0 1.2 1.3 1.4 Contact Hitachi

Table 4: Temperature Factor (TF) Chain Te mpe rature -20 F to -4 F -4 F to 15 F 15 F to 300 F 300 F to 390 F 390 F to 450 F More Than 450 F Te mpe rature Factor 4.0 3.0 1.0 1.3 2.0 Contact Hitachi

160 C2040 C2050 C2060H C2080H C2100H C2120H C2160H

117