Design and structural analysis of plastic chain link with polypropylene and polyoxymethylene material. (2021) - Kumar Jha, Neeraj
Abstract: This paper provides overview on suitability of manufacturing chain links by injection molding process rather than a combination of metal forming operationsas well as selection of compatiblepolymer materials so that such chains can be applied in moderate load applications. The existing chain links are made of metal to carry heavy load. Although automation is involved in their production, complete fabrication of a single chain link is a time taking and costly process. With slightly modified design they can be manufactured by injection molding process. This research work mainly focuses on design of plastic chain link and suitable type of plastic material for its manufacturing. By considering standard chain and sprocket dimensions plastic chain link was designed. At first thermoplastics viz. polypropylene (PP) and poly-oxy-methylene (POM) was used to compare few mechanical properties of plastic chain link with help of ANSYS software. It was observed that the designed chain link is capable to sustain around 1.5 KN axial loads with negligible deflection. Possibility of such chain links by injection moulding is verified with the help of Mold Flow Adviser.