Leaf Chain
Leaf chains are known for their durability and high tensile strength. They are primarily used in lift device applications such as forklifts, lift trucks, and lift masts. These hard working chains handle the lifting and balancing of heavy loads with the use of sheaves instead of sprockets for guidance. One of the primary differences with leaf chain compared to roller chain is that it only consists of a series of stacked plates and pins, providing superior lifting strength.
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All About Leaf Chains
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.
AL Leaf Chain or BL Leaf Chain?
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.
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.