There are many different types of toothed belt, and each one has a specific field of application. Toothed belts made from polyurethane (PU), for example, are not only used for power transmission but are often also used for transportation purposes.
PU belts are mostly available from stock in metric variants with type T2.5, T5, T10, T20, AT3, AT5, AT10 or AT20 toothing.
These belts are also available in HTD, MTD, RPP and STD variants, and even with the well-known classic MXL, XL, L, H and XH profiles.
PU toothed belts are also available as open-ended variants; in this form, they can be used in Omega drives, where the outer ends of the belt are fastened with clamping plates to enable both back-and-forth and up-and-down motion.
Open-ended belts can also be welded to size and, if necessary, given an additional covering layer to provide a higher friction coefficient or equipped with cleats.
It is also possible to manufacture PU belts from 1500 mm in almost all lengths in a wound variant.
Several factors determine which toothed belt type is best suited to a particular drive, for example the application (what is being driven?), the power to be transferred, the desired speed and the centre-to-centre distance between the pulleys.
It is also important to know what ambient conditions are present and whether there are any space limitations (what is the maximum permissible diameter and width of the pulleys?).
It is very important that the toothed belt is pre-tensioned correctly for optimal drive function. Tension can be measured with a testing device such as the Sonic Tension Meter. This uses the sound waves transmitted by the belt to determine its vibration frequency, which is in turn used to calculate the tension value.
As well as ensuring correct tensioning, it is also important that the pulleys are aligned correctly. This is done using a laser-guided alignment system.
Common standards for toothed belt drives are DIN 7721 and ISO 5294. Ultimately, it is important to consider whether the toothed belts need to be static-conductive to meet ISO 9563 (ATEX environments).
