SEED Guides Component Selection - Chain Drives < >

Relative chain costs are not readily available from manufacturers' catalogues and so it is difficult assessing the merits of different drive systems and chain alternatives without seeking actual detailed prices.

Comparison With Gears and Pulleys

General comparisons have been made with other transmission systems under heavy duties and chain drives come out to be consistently less expensive than all pulley belt types and gear transmissions. These comparisons are based on selecting transmission systems for operating at identical power and speed reductions and typically a chain drive is about half the cost of a Vee Belt drive; these comparisons exclude lubrication costs though.

One reason why chain drives are so competitively priced relative to pulley systems is that sprocket diameters are considerably smaller than pulley diameters for the same power and speed. Having smaller sprocket diameters results in further cost savings as will mating items also. This is because the chain tension will be lower than pulley belt tensions (they are also less since increased tensioning to avoid slippage is not necessary with chains) and so bearings and shafts may be smaller and thus less expensive in a chain drive assembly.

Comparison of Chain Types

Comparisons of cost for different chain sizes shows that prices rise more rapidly the larger the chain pitch but approximately in proportion with the number of strands used. For example, a chain with a 1/2" pitch is about 40% more expensive than 1/4" pitch, a chain with 1" pitch is 2.3 times the cost of 1/2" pitch and a chain with a 2" pitch is about 3.4 times more expensive than 1" pitch. Considering multi-strands, a duplex chain is nearly twice as expensive as a single strand chain of the same pitch, whereas a triplex strand chain is about 50% more expensive than a duplex chain.