V Belt Application Review

V and Flat Belt Design Engineering Data
V-Belt Suppliers

General

V-belts are the workhorse within industry, available from virtually every distributor and adaptable to practically any drive. They are presently available in a wide variety of standard sizes and types, for transmitting almost any amount of load power.

Operation

Typically, V-belts drives operate best at speeds between 1500 to 6000 ft/min ( 8 and 30 m/s). For standard belts, ideal peak capacity speed is approximately 4500 ft/min (23 m/s). Narrow V-belts, however, will operate up to 10,000 ft/min (50 m/s).

Advantages

V-belt drives permit large speed ratios and provide long life. They are easily installed and removed, quiet, and low maintenance.

Initial Selection adn Design COnsideration V-Belt Application

1. How much power do you need to transmit and at what speed?
2. Service Factor V-Belts your particular application.
3. Determine the V-Belt design horsepower.
4. Based on your results, determine which belt section would be appropriate for your drive - See V-belt supplier. Narrow belt sheaves are more compact than Classical belt sheaves. Some belts are more appropriate for specific applications.
5. Determine the ratio of your drive application based on the Ratio formula - center distance has been pre-selected based on the drive size.
6. Find the number of belts required by dividing the design horsepower by the belt/HP.
7. Verify the validity of this drive by consulting the number of grooves available in these sheave sizes.
8. Verify if dynamic balancing is needed for each sheave based on the Dynamic or Two-Plane Balancing formula .

Limitations

V-belts will slip and creep, V-belts should not be used where synchronous speeds are requires.

Sizes - See V Belt Sizes for more.

Industrial V-belts are made in two types: heavy -duty (conventional, narrow), and light duty. Conventional belts are available in A, B, C, D and E sections. Narrow belts are made in 3V, 5V, and 8V sections. Light-duty belts come in 2L, 3L, 4L, and 5L sections. Open-end belting is available in A, B, C, D, and E sections, and in some sizes for low-horsepower.

Agricultural belts are made in the same sections as conventional belts however, they are designated HA, HB, HC, HD, and HE: in double-V sections HAA, HBB, HCC, and HDD.

Automotive belts are made in six SAE-designated cross sections identified by the nominal top widths .38, .50, .69, .75, .88, and 1.00 in. (10, 12, 17, 19, 22, and 25 mm).

V-belts can be manufactured in any length within a fairly wide range.