Industrial Chain Types
Industrial chains fall into several categories based on application, load, and environment. iwis manufactures more than 20 types of industrial chains for drive and conveyor applications across virtually every major industry. Whether you need a standard ANSI roller chain, a specialty drive chain for high-load or high-speed production, or a maintenance-free or corrosion-resistant solution for a demanding environment, the full product range is below.
Industrial chain types include precision roller chains, double pitch roller chains, leaf chains, flat top chains, conveyor chains, hollow pin chains, accumulation chains, side bow chains, grip chains, and more — each engineered to DIN and ANSI standards with the tolerances and wear life that precision-driven industries require.
For specialty applications, iwis offers corrosion-resistant chains, maintenance-free chains, push pull chains, plate chains, tube conveyor chains, pin oven chains, and case conveyor chains. Browse by type below, or contact us if you need help selecting the right chain for your application.
More About Different Types of Industrial Chains
Roller Chains
The industry-standard chain built to DIN and ANSI specs, used across drive, conveying, and material-handling applications from packaging to food processing to automotive manufacturing.
Roller Chains with Sawtooth Plates
ELITE-brand chains engineered for exceptional wear resistance and fatigue strength, built primarily for transporting raw timber and sawn planks in wood processing.
Connecting Links
The full range of inner links, outer links, spring links, and crank links needed to assemble or repair any iwis roller chain.
Corrosion-Resistant Chains
Stainless steel, nickel-plated, galvanized, and zinc-aluminum-coated chains built for washdown, food processing, and other environments where standard steel would corrode.
Side Bow Chains
Chains with a reduced pin diameter or conical bushings that let conveyor and drag systems navigate curved tracks, common in laundries, high-temperature plants, and food and beverage lines.
Accumulation Chains
Chains with idler rollers that let conveyed goods buffer and start-stop smoothly without jolting, available in maintenance-free and side bow versions for electronics, food, and glass processing.
Double Pitch Roller Chains
Extended-plate chains for lower-speed, lower-load applications like sorting plants and agricultural machinery, available with transport rollers for gentler conveying.
Roller Chains with Vulcanised Elastomer Profiles
Chains fitted with a rubber profile that protects fragile goods like coated sheet metal or planed timber from scratching during transport.
Transfer Chains
Chains fully enclosed on three sides by snap-on plastic attachments, protecting both delicate conveyed goods and operating staff in packaging, electronics, and food production.
Conveyor Chains
The broadest category of chains for transporting unit loads and bulk goods, most often custom-built to individual specifications rather than sold as standard parts.
Hollow Pin Chains
Chains with a distinct pin design compatible with standard ISO 606 sprockets, commonly supplied in matched pairs for double-strand conveyor and material-handling systems.
Push Pull Chains
Rigid, compact chains that transmit tensile and compressive force without a guide, built for linear actuation in space-constrained equipment across medical, automotive, and general engineering applications.
Plate Chains
Chains with pressed-on plates that create a flat, step-free transport surface capable of very tight bends, used in tool transport and under-floor conveyors.
Pin Oven Chains
Precision chains built for can manufacturing, treated with a food-safe, high-temperature lubricant and fitted with replaceable transport pins rated up to 260°C.
Tube Transport Chains
Chains with corrosion-resistant, easily replaced transport bars for gently conveying tubes and thin-walled containers through cleaning, painting, and drying processes.
Leaf Chains
Pin-and-plate chains with no rollers, built for high breaking loads in lifting and hoisting applications like fork lift masts and machine tool counterweights.
Case Conveyor Chains
Robust FLEXON-brand chains for barrel, container, and pallet conveying in harsh environments, available in cast steel, stainless steel, galvanized, or plastic versions.
Plate Top Chains
A hybrid of steel roller chains and plastic plates that combines high breaking loads with a smooth, dry-running plastic-to-plastic surface.
Flat Top Chains
Steel, stainless steel, or plastic chains built for high wear resistance, most common in the beverage industry but used broadly across automation and automotive lines.
Multiflex Chains
Plastic chains engineered for high mobility through horizontal and vertical bends, including the enclosed SafeTop design used in automotive, packaging, and food conveyor systems.
Grip Chains
Multifunctional chains that combine a conveyor chain with an integrated gripping system to grip, feed, transport, and position sensitive materials like film and thin-walled sheet metal.
Our Solution-Based, Industrial Chain Product Brands
From the maximum corrosion protection of b.triton to the maintenance-free benefits of MEGAlife, our solution products are engineered around specific performance demands.
MEGAlife chains eliminate the need for relubrication entirely, combining strong wear resistance with corrosion protection for applications where maintenance access is limited or lubrication is undesirable.
SL (Super Longlife) precision roller chains from the JWIS brand use a proprietary pin surface treatment that delivers extremely high surface hardness, achieving substantially greater wear resistance, tensile strength, and fatigue resistance than standard chain requirements.
HSP (High Strength & Performance) chains address a different problem: raw load capacity. Through a combination of straight side plates, shot-peened components, ball-drifted plates, and high pre-load assembly, HSP chains deliver up to 40–60% higher tensile and fatigue strength compared to standard roller chains, making them the right choice for heavy-duty drives, high dynamic loads, and continuous-operation equipment where standard chain leaves insufficient safety margin.
For environments where moisture, washdown, or chemicals are the main concern, b.dry chains are built from maintenance-free CF stainless steel with a dry polymer bushing design — no lubrication, no corrosion, no contamination risk.
b.triton offers an alternative for the most corrosive conditions: a high-strength carbon steel base with a proprietary protective coating, rated for up to 1,000 hours of salt spray resistance per ISO 9227.
Read more about our product brands at the links below.
