Roller Chain Stiffening? Here’s What to Do
Your roller chain is an essential part of your power transmission drive, and it’s crucial that it operates smoothly. Over time, with roller chain stiffening, links in the chain and sprockets will experience undue stress. We recommend addressing any problems with chain stiffness quickly to prevent permanent damage. When troubleshooting a chain drive, it’s best…
Sprocket Tooth Wear: The Causes and Solutions
Like a good many products in the power transmission industry, roller chain sprockets will inevitably wear. Sprocket wear is not necessarily a reason for concern. Excessive or rapid wear in any component, on the other hand, is concerning. The most probable cause of sprocket tooth wear? Elongated – or stretched – chain. This article will…
Excessive Roller Chain Wear? Why It Occurs
There’s a reason we replace roller chains regularly. The movement of chain around a sprocket naturally causes wear, but excessive roller chain wear and fatigue cause problems. A well-maintained chain drive will keep your machine running strong over time, making it important to minimize the impact of wear. As the chain wraps around the sprocket,…
Roller Chain Wear: Inside Roller Plates, Sprocket Tooth Sides
Are you seeing wear on the inside of your chain side plates or the sides of your sprocket teeth? Some wear and lengthening of roller chain as it operates is to be expected. However, when wear is excessive or abnormal, as in the above case – you’ll want to take a closer look. Replacing parts…
Roller Chain Failure: Causes and Strategies for Prevention
No one wants catastrophic roller chain failure. It’s disruptive and costly to halt operations while replacing your roller chain. Unfortunately, though, this is a problem we occasionally have to handle. There are three primary causes of chain breakage. When the driven load exceeds the chain rating, your chain is at risk of breaking. This issue…
Chain Elongation: Causes and Solutions
Roller chain is one of the most commonly used industrial components. From mining to marine applications, the food industry to pharmaceuticals; roller chain is quite versatile. As you may expect, keeping this critical component working is essential. Premature chain elongation will shorten the lifespan of your roller chain, and even cause costly unplanned downtime and…
Overheating Gearbox: Shaft Mount Reducer Solutions
Are you having trouble with an overheating gearbox? You’ll want to address the problem quickly. When oil temperature rises above 200°F it loses viscosity, which means it can’t reduce friction. This puts your reducer at risk. When you use an overheating gearbox, you’re risking it breaking entirely. Location is a common contributor to overheating. If…
Gearbox Leakage: Shaft Mount Reducer Solutions
Without oil, your gearbox is in serious trouble! Heat and friction caused by a lack of adequate lubrication will rapidly cause problems – damaging (or even breaking) the bearings and gears inside your gearbox. Thankfully, fixing gearbox leakage isn’t too hard. Rather than repeatedly topping off the gearbox, or worse – letting it run critically…
Gearbox Noise & Vibration: Shaft Mount Reducer Solutions
Are you noticing gearbox noise and vibration in your reduction drive? This is a sign of an issue that should be fixed sooner rather than later. Break down in your helical shaft mount speed reducer can cause a shutdown of your entire machine. Any delay in production is costly and unpleasant. Definitely something worth avoiding….
Raw-Edge vs. Wrapped V-Belts
A comparison between wrapped and raw-edge v-belts, looking at capabilities and drawbacks, and how they affect certain applications.
Quality On Trial – Dodge vs. Vortex Shaft-Mount Speed Reducers
A comparison between Dodge and Vortex shaft-mount speed reducers that looks at component and manufacturing quality and how they affect performance.
Stainless Steel or Thermoplastic Bearings?
A comparison between stainless and thermoplastic mounted bearings, highlighting pros and cons of each, what they have in common, and in what applications each one may excel in.