Tight Tolerance Urethane Sprockets

A manufacturer of modular plastic belting sought to increase the wear resistance of their close-tolerance plastic sprockets.

Since the belting manufacturer has considerable in-house machining capabilities, they decided to try polyurethane and requested slabs of polyurethane that they could machine into various sprockets for testing.

Close-Tolerance Molding and Precision Machining

The machined prototype urethane sprockets did not have the expected flex life. Gallagher’s inspection determined that the customer’s machining of the small sprocket teeth created stress risers that reduced the flex life, resulting in premature teeth breakage.

Instead, Gallagher began molding the sprockets using a close-tolerance molding method, followed by precision machining of the bore dimensions in our machining department. The flex life is now quite acceptable, and the increased wear resistance has been proven in the field.

The customer now offers a successful line of abrasion-resistant sprockets that complements their world-class modular belting.