Roller chain (ISO 606)
BS & ANSI · UK stock
The backbone of most packaging drives. Simplex to triplex, in steel or stainless steel, cut to your exact pitch count with links fitted.
Industry — Packaging
Chain & sprockets for packaging machinery
On a high-cycle packaging line, one failed chain stops everything downstream. We supply, cut and build the chain that keeps it running, and the custom attachments most stockists won't touch.
The problem
Throughput is the product. Downtime is the cost.
Packaging lines are unforgiving: cycle times are tight, machines are coupled, and a single chain failure halts every stage behind it. Flexible, short-run packaging makes it harder still. Lines get rebuilt, re-timed and re-tooled, and the chain has to keep up with attachments, spacings and pitches that were never in a catalogue.
That is where a stockist stops being useful and a chain builder starts. We hold the standard programme in Malvern for the next-day emergency, and we build the non-standard chain in-house when your line needs something a catalogue can't supply. Line down and no part number? Send a photo, the chain marking or a sample — our chain identification guide shows the three measurements that name almost any chain.
By machine
Start from the machine, not the catalogue
Most packaging enquiries arrive as a machine, not a chain number. These are the usual answers — and if yours isn't here, the photo-and-marking route works for everything.
Heat end
Shrink tunnels & sleeve sealers
08B-class conveyor chain does most of this work. Heat is the enemy of lubrication, so it is elevated-temperature service: tell us the duty and we will spec the chain and the lubricant approach together.
Typical chains: 08B-1 roller chain · C2040 double-pitch
Wrapping
Flow wrappers & baggers
Small-pitch precision drives where timing matters. Supplied cut to pitch count with the connecting link fitted, so the drive goes back together the way it came apart.
Typical chains: 06B-1 & 08B-1 simplex · ANSI 40
Case & carton
Case packers, cartoners & palletisers
Attachment and double-pitch chain with A/K platforms at your spacing, and hollow-pin chain where rods and fixtures pass through the chain itself.
Typical chains: C2050 with K1 platforms · 40HP hollow pin
Washdown
Washdown & food-adjacent lines
Stainless steel components and coated options chosen against the real washdown regime — see the coating comparison further down this page for the honest numbers.
Typical chains: 08B-1SS & C2042SS stainless steel · NSL self-lube
Machinery suppliers and service teams: once we have supplied a chain, the specification stays on file — repeat spares are a part number and a quantity, and sprockets are machined to your drawing or a worn sample.
Our strength
Custom attachments and matched sprockets, built to your line
Most packaging chain problems are attachment problems: the platform is the wrong shape, the spacing doesn't suit the new format, the OEM part is obsolete or six weeks out. We build attachment chain in our own workshop in Malvern, to your drawing, sample, or the worn chain itself.
- Standard platforms: A1/A2, K1/K2, SA1/SA2, SK1/SK2, WA/WK and WSA/WSK types
- Extended and hollow pins (D1/D3) for rods, spindles, flights and fixtures
- Fully bespoke attachments profiled to your drawing, at any pitch spacing
- Sprockets machined to our specification to suit: tooth count, bore and keyway to your shaft, in steel or stainless steel
- Your finished specification is held on file, so the next one is identical
Why it matters
Chain and sprockets from one spec
A new chain on a worn sprocket wears out fast. Order the drive as a matched set: chain cut to your pitch count, sprockets cut to suit, and both arrive to one specification, from one supplier, on one lead time.
The programme
Chain types for packaging lines
From the standard drive chain to the specialist constructions that solve a specific line problem.
Double-pitch chain (ISO 1275)
C2040–C2122H
Long centre distances and dirty environments. Standard or large roller, with A/K attachments for carrying and indexing product.
Straight-plate chain (GL)
08B-1GL · steel & stainless steel
Straight side bars give a flat, snag-free running surface, the usual choice where product or guides run against the chain.
Hollow-pin chain
08B, 40–80, C2040-series
Pins bored through to take rods, spindles and fixings, the basis of wire-belt edges and modular attachment builds.
Side-bow chain
Curve radii from 254 mm
Flexes sideways to follow curved and three-dimensional conveyor paths without binding.
Accumulation (Double-Plus)
Free-flow conveying
Twin-roller construction lets product accumulate on a moving chain without back-pressure damage, for buffering between machines.
Non-marking & plastic-roller
POM rollers · quiet running
Where the chain touches the product: plastic rollers and non-marking construction protect finished surfaces and cut noise.
Low-noise chain
To ~200 m/min
Engineered for quieter running in packing halls where noise exposure is a working consideration.
Self-lube (NSL)
NSF H1 · to 145°C / 220°C
Oil-impregnated bush runs without relubrication or drips, for lines where re-oiling is impractical or contamination unacceptable.
Standard ranges are held in UK stock. See the BS, ANSI and double-pitch conveyor ranges for sizes, variants and full dimensions. Specialist constructions are available to order; contact us for current lead times.
Wire-belt lines
Edge chain, cut in matched pairs
Wire-belt conveyors live or die by their edge chain. We supply the hollow-pin and extended-pin chain that carries and drives wire belting, cut and made up as matched pairs so both sides run the same length. A pair a single pitch apart will crab the belt and wear the track.
- Hollow-pin chain in steel and stainless steel
- Extended-pin builds to your projection, one side or both
- Pairs matched on length before dispatch, spec kept on file
Send us
Belt pitch, edge fixing, length
Or a short sample of the old chain. From that we can supply an identical matched pair, and keep the spec so the next set takes one phone call.
Corrosion protection
Coating options compared
Washdown, damp stores and humid halls all attack chain. Where stainless steel is more than the job needs, a coated carbon-steel chain is often the smarter economic answer, but the coatings differ enormously, so here are the real salt-spray figures rather than adjectives.
| Treatment | Appearance | Salt-spray (ASTM B117) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| CRF (GEOMET®) | Off-white | ≥600 hours | Best corrosion protection; hexavalent-chromium free. Tensile ~5–10% below standard steel chain |
| GN (zinc + nickel) | Silver | ≥500 hours | Strong protection with no strength penalty |
| MZP (mechanical zinc) | Off-white | >60 hours | Good general protection, economical |
| NP (nickel plated) | Silver | ~20 hours | Appearance and light protection |
| Stainless steel | Natural | — | For washdown, chemical and food-contact duties; see our stainless steel range |
Coated chain is supplied to order — tell us the environment and we will recommend the specification, not the most expensive option. Solid-lubricant (dry-film) and acid-resistant treatments are also available for specific duties.
Common questions
Straight answers
Our packaging line runs 24/7. Can you supply a replacement chain fast?
Stocked sizes ordered by 1pm go out for next-day delivery, UK mainland. For lines we already supply, your made-up chain specification (length, attachments and spacing) is held on file, so a reorder is a single phone call rather than a fresh survey.
Can you make chain with attachments to our own design?
Yes. This is core work. Send a drawing, a sample, or even a photo of the old chain with the attachment on it. We build attachment chain in-house in Malvern: standard A/K/SA/SK/WA/WK platforms, extended pins, or fully bespoke attachments profiled to your drawing, at whatever pitch spacing your line needs.
What chain do you recommend where lubricant can't reach the product?
Self-lube chain. An oil-impregnated bush with NSF H1 food-registered lubricant means the chain runs without re-oiling and without drips. It suits packaging lines where relubrication is impractical or contamination is a risk. Non-marking and plastic-roller chains are also available where the chain contacts the product directly.
Can you match the sprockets as well as the chain?
Yes, and we would encourage it, because a worn sprocket destroys a new chain. Sprockets are supplied to suit every chain we sell, including stainless steel, and are machined to our specification with the tooth count, bore and keyway to suit your shaft.
Line down, or line being rebuilt?
Send the chain, a drawing or a photo of the attachment. We'll match it, build it, or tell you if a standard part does the job.