In the industrial and commercial sectors, one in three electric motors use belt drives. However, some customers fail to take advantage of the potential energy cost savings of certain industrial belts, which are readily available and cost -efficient. While pulleys control the speed of the equipment, industrial belts are designed to position the motor relative to the load. High efficiency and low maintenance are key components to top performing belt transmission systems.

Types of Belt Drives

V belts

These are the most commonly used types of belt drives. Using a trapezoidal cross section V belts create a wedge action on pulleys to increase friction and improve the belt’s power transfer capability.

Heavy loads often require joined or multiple belts. At the time of installation, V-belts have 95% to 98% peak efficiency. Pulley size, driven torque, under or over-belting, and V belt design and construction impact efficiency. V-belts have a nominal efficiency of 93%, a reduction of 5%, over time if slippage occurs because the belt is not periodically re-tensioned.

Cogged belts

These types of belt drives have slots that run perpendicular to the belt’s length, helping to reduce the bending resistance of the belt. While using the same pulleys as v belts, cogged belts manage to run cooler, last longer, and increase efficiency by 2% from standard v belts.

Synchronous belts

This type of belt drive, often referred to as timing belts, boast a 98% efficiency, which is maintained over a wide load range. These toothed belts require the installation of mating tooth-drive sprockets. Synchronous belts require less maintenance and re-tensioning, operate in wet and oily environments and run slip-free. While synchronous belts are the most efficient, they can be noisy, transfer vibrations, and are unsuitable for shock loads. In such applications, cogged belts are the better choice.

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