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Sprocket vs Pulley - What's the difference?

sprocket | pulley |

As nouns the difference between sprocket and pulley

is that sprocket is a toothed wheel that enmeshes with a chain or other perforated band while pulley is one of the simple machines; a wheel with a grooved rim in which a pulled rope or chain will lift an object (more useful when two or more pulleys are used together such that a small force moving through a greater distance can exert a larger force through a smaller distance).

As a verb pulley is

to raise or lift by means of a pulley.

sprocket

Alternative forms

* (l)

Noun

(en noun)
  • A toothed wheel that enmeshes with a chain or other perforated band.
  • (usually, in the plural) The tooth of such a wheel.
  • (architecture) A flared extension at the base of a sloped roof.
  • A (placeholder name) for an unnamed, unspecified, or hypothetical manufactured good or product.
  • Suppose we have a widget factory that produces 100 widgets per year, and a sprocket factory that produces 200 sprockets per year.

    Usage notes

    Although sprockets are sometimes referred to as gears , there is a technical distinction between the two: sprockets interact with chains, whereas gears interact with other gears.

    Synonyms

    * (placeholder name) widget

    Derived terms

    * sprocket wheel

    See also

    * (wikipedia "sprocket")

    pulley

    English

    (wikipedia pulley)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • One of the simple machines; a wheel with a grooved rim in which a pulled rope or chain will lift an object (more useful when two or more pulleys are used together such that a small force moving through a greater distance can exert a larger force through a smaller distance).
  • References

    See also

    * inclined plane * lever * polyspast * block and tackle * screw * wedge * wheel *

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To raise or lift by means of a pulley.
  • (Howell)