All the power transmission belts used are either friction drive or positive drive. The former belts depend on the friction between the belt and the pulley in order to transmit the power. They need tension in order to maintain a perfect amount of friction. Flat belts are the purest and most bona fide form of friction drive while V belts have a friction multiplying effect as the wedging action implemented on the pulley. Positive drive or synchronous belts are dependent on the teeth engagement on the belt with grooves on the pulley. We have listed some basic types of power transmission belting below.
- Flat belts
These bets are made with rubberized fabrics that strengthen the friction level with the pulley. This gets rid of the need of high tension, bearing loads, and lowering shaft. These belts can transmit up to 150hp/in. These belts are 99 percent efficient because of the lower bending losses from a thin cross section, low creep due to friction covers and high modulus of elasticity traction layers. To flat belts, pulley alignment is essential. Belt tracking is enhanced by crowning one pulley at least. These flat belts run on drives with speeds more than 3000 fpm.
- Link belts
These belts come with removable links that are connected to adjacent links by shaped ends which are twisted via the next link. These belts may come with any length that reduces inventory. These belts are used to make instant V belt replacement, can transmit the same hp as classic v belts. They are made of polyester fabric and polyurethane belt and plies that are heat-, oil-, water-, and chemical- proof. These belts make up the matched sets rapidly, fast installation as machinery doesn’t have to be disassembled, and vibration dampening.
- Synchronous belts
These belts come with a toothed profile that joins the corresponding grooves in the pulley, offering the same engagement as gears or chains. This is used where indexing, positioning or constant speed ratio is needed. The first tooth profile used on these belts was trapezoidal in shape, which is the standard nonetheless. These belts come with many tooth shapes. A curvilinear tooth design comes with a varied pressure angle, materials needed for enhanced load/life capacity, tooth depth and non-ratcheting resistance. If these belts are misaligned, it may cause wear and tear.
