BANDED BELTS: PROS AND CONS

Banded belts are multiple belts joined together by a band to form a single drive unit. This is useful where there are pulsating loads and the belt flaps/vibrations will be more. This tends to twist the belts during operation. Pulleys with a longer centre to centre distances are prone to excessive belt flaps and banded belts are very useful in such cases.

In most industries, excessive belt flaps are observed in drives with multiple belts, due to pulley misalignment. Mostly, few belts out of these, which are under more tension, will fail first. Thes failed belts will get turned over and damages the other belts and sometimes leads to equipment or bearing failure. These problems can be avoided using a banded belt.

Listed below are the advantages of banded belts:

1. Prevents damages and jumping off the sheaves due to excessive belt flaps.
2. Uniform load distribution across the belt.

Some of the disadvantages include

1. Dirt and debris cannot escape the bands. Hence it is not suitable to be used in dirty environments.
2. Pulley wear must be kept to a minimum, or else the top band might rub with the rim top surface and gets cut.

Hence, if you have a clean environment and is facing issues with frequent belt failure (especially turning over of belts), try the banded belts. Keep in mind that the pulley groove wear must be minimum. Try it with a new set of pulleys, if possible.