Machines are the muscle behind everything that people create. If it wasn’t for the steel gears, rubber belts and chain driven systems the world’s supply of usable goods would evaporate. No matter what the size of the equipment in use some type of mechanical Power Transmission is required to turn energy into usable torque. Simple examples include shop tools that many people should be familiar with such as drill presses or bandsaws. Each of these items use a standard electric motor to generate RPM (revolutions per minute) which is converted to torque through a gear box or other mechanical system. To ensure this equipment will survive the punishment of daily usage manufacturers use treated metals and hardened alloys when manufacturing these devices.
Now, imagine that you have to make the machines your company uses from scratch. This happens more often than a person might think. This is where merchants like Challenge PT come into the picture. They are one of a number of mechanical component suppliers who carry the parts to get your machine from an interesting idea to an operating piece of equipment, but this particular supplier is world renown. The components they provide range from gears and pulleys to the most commonly used Transmission Chain known as a Roller Chain. However, these are just the mechanical components. Suppliers also provide the smaller items your systems may need such as clutches, actuators, bearings, couplings and universal joints.
Machines can require a huge number of parts when converting the power of an engine into usable torque. For instance, an electric motor can turn at incredible speeds and may require the use of a speed reducer to limit the final rotation rate of the spindle. Speed reducers are a type of transmission that is driven by an input shaft and Conveyor Chain reduces the rotational output of the drive shaft using a number of internal gears. They can have a straight through design or they can have a side shaft output for confined spaces.
One of the most important aspects of creating any machine is understanding the size and types of gears or chains it requires. In most cases you can’t just pick a bunch of parts and put them together. This is where good designs become important. It is also the point where the knowledgeable staff at merchants like Challenge come in very handy. They can often find a solution to your problem by searching through their inventory. They will of course require a bit of information from you so they understand what your design is attempting to do.
Power Transmission 