What Are The Idler Rollers？

An idler roller is a gear wheel that is inserted between two or more other gear wheels. The purpose of an idler gear can be two-fold. Firstly, the idler gear will change the direction of rotation of the output shaft. Secondly, an idler gear can assist to reduce the size of the input/output gears whilst maintaining the spacing of the shafts.

The ratio of idler gear

An idler gear does not affect the gear ratio between the input and output shafts. Note that in a sequence of gears chained together, the ratio depends only on the number of teeth on the first and last gear. The intermediate gears, regardless of their size, do not alter the overall gear ratio of the chain, except to change the direction of rotation of the final gear. (That is, each intermediate gear changes the sign of the gear ratio.)

Likewise, the size of an idler wheel in a non-geared friction drive system does not affect the gear ratio between the input and output shafts. The surface speed of the input shaft is transferred directly to the surface speed of the idler wheel, and then from the idler wheel to the output shaft. A larger or smaller idler wheel maintains the same surface speed (which equals the surface speed of the input shaft), therefore the output shaft is driven at a constant speed regardless of the size of the idler wheel (unless of course there is slippage, which should not occur in most friction drive systems when operating correctly; however, there are instances where an idler wheel can double as a clutch, or if there is a sudden or unusually heavy load on the system. These situations can cause the ratio of rotations between the wheels to vary, unlike a gear system, which will always rotate at a certain rate unless something is very wrong and the gears start skipping teeth, or teeth are broken off).

Applications of idler rollers

An idler is used in many applications, including material handling processes and to improve belt drive performance. Conveyor belt idlers are crucial to the conveying process because they support the belt and conveyor along its full length to prevent stretching, tears, and corrosion.

The idler is a gear that plays a role in the middle of two transmission gears that are not in contact with each other, and meshes with both gears to change the direction of rotation of the driven gear.

Its role is only to change the direction of rotation and can not change the gear ratio, so it is called the idler.

High-quality idler rollers features

Conveyor belt idlers are often used in environments that are exposed to extreme weather conditions, heat, humidity, high spillage, or excessive moisture.

High-quality idlers that can stand up to harsh working conditions are manufactured with:

• High strength and impact resistant polymer endcaps

• Sealed bearings that are protected against dust and moisture contamination

• A corrosion-resistant design

• Endcaps that eliminate sharp edges and prevent tears in the belt

• Additional protective components including a Safety Anti-lock Shield and High Moisture Seal

We are an idler rollers supplier, please feel free to contact us if you need them.