V belt drives are often considered the fuse of the power transmission drive path, which can be an advantage for v belt drives. In that line of thinking, not much thought is given to the impact on overall equipment reliability with respect to the v belt drives connecting driver and machine.

V belt drive design, v belt installation and v belt maintenance affect more than just the v belts, but the driver and machine as well. Machine components, such as shafts, bearings and seals, are some of the elements that will suffer from poor v belt reliability.

Chronic v belt failures and short life can increase valuable maintenance manpower, which is already under constant pressure in today’s environment. Unhealthy v belt drives also typically increase equipment vibration, which can negatively impact a component’s life, as well as processes. Poorly operating v belt drives are also energy wasters, as low power transmission efficiencies come along with poor reliability. Lastly, unreliable v belt drives carry with them a potential safety risk. Constantly working on v belt drives with multiple pinch points puts maintenance technicians in the line of fire for potential accidents.

A v belt drive must be designed correctly to have a chance at a full life in a 24/7 industrial application. Many v belt drive reliability issues have been traced back to an initial design problem. There are many v belt drive power transmission suppliers that offer online software to aid in v belt drive selection, although some are just designer’s choice, such as what type of v belt to use. However, there are several design factors that must be accurate because even good maintenance won’t correct them. For example, having enough v belts to transmit the connected horsepower (hp). This article concentrates on v belt drive maintenance, so it’s assumed the v belt drive design has no deficiencies.

This article comes from reliabilityweb edit released