Help with Roller chains

[Barak Shelef]

Hey all you Inventor Gods,

Well, im trying to use the Design excellerator to create roller chains for the robot design, but I don't know how to use the chain pins and rolls of the KoP (the ones I downloaded from FIRSTBase - a single pin and a single roll models).
Plus, I'm having some trouble using the sprokets, I understand there are the iMates that should help me align all the stuff, but after I align the two sprokets the design excellerator says somthing about needing a 'sliding sproket' and because im using existing sprokets I can't make them 'sliding sprokets' .
Finally, when I do render somthing it's a strange blue semi-transparent continious chain :S how can I switch that blue stuff to my actual chain parts?

Anywho, generally I need a tutorial for making chains, since I saw you guys have a proper chain, maybe you could give me a hand in this ?


Thank a lot,


Barak Shelef
Inventor dude
FRC#2230

[Aceanuu]

As far as I know, there is no system to make a chain automatically (like one you'd see on a bike or something), all I think Inventor can make is a semitransparent loop.

The chain I made is not very adaptive, so make sure you've got the dimensions right for the chain before you make it, heheh.

To make my chain, well, it took a while... lol. Basically, I made the sprockets i needed with the design accelerator, copied the sketches of the outline of the gears, and pasted all the sketches of the gear outlines in one file. I then made one figure 8 thing with two circles in the middle of each end (the link and the two pins bascially). The key to this part is to make the two pins the little dots at the center of the arcs of two adjacent teeth on the sprocket. Then make the figure 8 shape between those two pins. However, don't extrude anything till you are totally done. Well now that you have the two pins and the one link done, simple circular pattern this around the center of your sprocket sketch, you'll have to adjust the angle of the iterations so that the chains wrap around the sprocket as far as you want them to. Then simply copy one of the links and angle if from the sprocket to the other sprocket and rectangular pattern them in the line. This is basic concept I used.

I know thats confusing, but it should be pretty simple if you get the concept.

[Barak Shelef]

Ok thanks man, I'll try that Any other suggestions :O ?