What are Chain Sprockets?

Chain sprocket is a kind of power transmission in which a roller chain engages with two or more toothed sprockets or wheels and is used in engines as a drive from cranshift to a camshaft.

The Four Classifications of Chain Sprockets

The varied kinds of sprockets have different kinds of hubs. A hub is an additional thickness found around the central plate of a chain sprocket, and it does not have teeth. According to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), chain sprockets are classified into four types, as mentioned below.

Type A - These types of sprockets do not have any hub and are found to be flat. They are the kind you will usually find mounted on hubs or flanges of the device through which the sprockets drive through a series of holes that are found to be plain or tapered. Type A sprockets are the only plates that have no added thickness or hubs.

Type B - These sprockets have a hub on one side alone. This allows them to be fitted closely to the machinery on which the sprocket is mounted. Type B sprocket oversees the elimination of the massive overhung load on the bearings of the device or the equipment.

Type C - These have hubs of equal thickness on either side of the plate. They are extended on both sides of the plate and are used on the driven sprocket. The driven sprocket is where the diameter is found to be larger and has more weight to support the shaft. This implies that the larger the load, the larger the hub will be, as they need more thickness to support the weight.

Type D - Also known as Type C Offset, these sprockets also have two hubs. These types of sprockets use a type A sprocket which is mounted on a solid or split hub. The speed ratio is seen to vary without having to remove the parts or bearings of the device when using this type of sprocket.

What are Chain Sprockets used for?

Some of the common uses of sprockets are how they are used on bicycles to pull the linked chain to turn the movement of the rider's feet into the rotation of the bike's wheels.

They are used in motorcycles for primary and final drives.

They are used on tracked vehicles like tanks and the kinds of farmed machinery. The sprockets line up with the links of the track and pull them as the chain sprocket rotates, therefore, making the vehicle move. The even distribution of the weight of the vehicle across the entirety of the track is what enables tracked vehicles to travel on uneven ground more carefully.

They are also used in film cameras and film projectors to hold the film in position and move when the photographs are clicked.