Leaf Chains and Strength
Leaf chains are famous with engineers for their strength in materials handling, such as with forklifts, lift trucks, lift masts, straddle carriers, and other major works of civil engineering. Their long service life, high fatigue strength and maximum wear resistance make them the ideal solution for long-term projects that need to be both reliable and incredibly strong. The compact design of leaf chains allows them to fit well within a variety of systems. The key parts of a leaf chain include:
- Link Plates: Close control of the plate dimensions allows for high fatigue strength and long service life.
- Pins: The pins pass through the plates and are subject to shearing forces, while the plates articulate on the pins through rotation over the sheave.
When choosing a PEER Chain leaf chain, you must make your purchase decision based on:
Lacing Pattern
The more link plates there are, the higher the expected output and tensile strength. One of the ways to get a better hang of this is to understand the part numbering. The first number(s) identifies the chain pitch, and the two numbers that follow represent the chain’s lacing. With this, you can say that a BL644 is stronger and more durable than a BL634 leaf chain.
Bearing Area
Tensile strength does not always equal durability for leaf chains in use. When comparing leaf chains of similar tensile strengths, you must choose the one with the larger bearing area.
Fatigue Strength
The greater the number of articulating links, the more uneven the load is distributed throughout the leaf chain. Pins are more likely to bend under pressure when they are longer. Therefore, you must choose the leaf chain with the least number of links.
Applications of AL and BL Series Leaf Chain
Leaf chains can be applied in a variety of ways across many industries. However, these industries have common applications like heavy-duty lifting.
Storage
Leaf chains can be utilized in warehouses to move goods around with little input and effort. The high tensile strength, durability and reliability of PEER Chain leaf chains make it the most thoughtful choice when shopping for a chain that will not fail midway through operation.
Factories and Garages
Leaf chains are essential in car factories, garages and workshops to raise vehicles to easily engineer car body parts. Considering the hazard associated with this activity, you must use only the safest chains.
Boat Lifts
Besides the fact that boats cause incredible strains on chains because they are heavy, seawater is harsh on chains and causes them to wear faster. With ProCoat Technology coating PEER Chain’s leaf chains, you are assured of increased durability — even in these conditions.
Leaf Chain AL Series or Leaf Chain BL Series
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) determines consensus standards for a wide range of products and processes in the U.S. that are also adopted worldwide. This regulatory body provides the chain industry with specifics around size and strength that govern the manufacture of different types of chains, including leaf chains and roller chains. While these standards do not often change, AL Series was removed from ANSI Standard in 1975. The newer edition of the standard is BL Series, which replaced the AL Series. AL and BL Series are dimensionally different. BL Series has a higher tensile strength than AL Series and is more commonly used today. However, older machinery may still use the AL Series of leaf chain, which is still offered by PEER Chain in a variety of different sizes.
The layout and thickness of the AL Series are similar to that of the ANSI G8 roller chain but with a slightly different pin diameter. In contrast, the link plates of the BL Series are thicker than those of the AL Series and share the same pin diameter with the ANSI G8 roller chains.
The BL Series chains are more flexible in application because of their incredible tensile strengths. It also offers more variations. BL Series chains are advised if you need a durable chain that saves space and provides greater consistency in tensile strength.
When you need a leaf chain to keep your project in balance, contact the experienced professionals at PEER Chain. If you’re not sure exactly what type or size of chain that you need, we have decades of experience working with customers to provide the ideal chain or sprocket to keep you moving. Contact us today at 800-523-4567 or via email to [email protected]. We have a full line of Leaf AL Series Chains as well as Leaf BL Series Chains.