Belt Installation Tension; Tips On Using The Sonic Tension Meter - Gates 507C Manuel D'utilisation

5. Belt installation
tension
Proper belt installation tension is essential in
V-belt and synchronous drives for optimum
performance and reliability.
installation tension for a belt, or set of belts,
depends upon the drive geometry and load
conditions and must be calculated. Procedures
for calculating belt tension are included in the
appropriate drive design manual. To determine
the belt tension recommended for specific drive
applications, either refer to the appropriate drive
design manual, or contact Gates Application
Engineering.
The following catalogues may be helpful:
• Poly Chain
(E2/20109)
• V-Belt drive design manual (E2/20070)
• Synchronous belt drive design manual
(E2/20099)
• Long Length drive design manual (E2/20065)
• DesignFlex (E/20098)
6. Tips on using the
sonic tension meter
Gates' sonic tension meter is capable of
measuring belt tension with greater accuracy and
consistency than traditional methods. It should
not, however, be expected to produce exacting
results in every case. While numerous factors
can be found to influence the accuracy of the
meter's output, one must remember that
traditional methods of belt tensioning such as
force/deflection or belt elongation are
approximate.
The following suggestions are provided to help
you achieve a high level of accuracy with Gates'
sonic tension meter.
• After you have entered the correct numbers into
the meter, take at least three readings to confirm
that results are consistent and that the meter
is not erroneously reading background noise.
• When measuring the tension in synchronous
belts, use spans that are more than 20 times
longer than the tooth pitch. Using spans
shorter than this may result in readings that are
higher than the actual tension due to belt cross-
sectional stiffness.
• There are limits as to how low a span tension
the meter can measure depending upon the
belt type and cross-section.
recommended installation tension values are
available for all belt sections from either drive
design manuals or Gates Application
Engineering. Measuring tensions below these
minimum recommended values should be
avoided, as the meter may display "ERROR"/
"Error-Re-measure" or provide inaccurate
results.
• When measuring belt installation tension, turn
the drive over by hand for several revolutions
to fully seat the belt and equalise tension in all
of the spans before making any measurements.
Factors such as sprocket/shaft eccentricity,
belt/sheave groove variation, etc., can
influence belt tension as the sprockets or
sheaves rotate. If the measured belt tension
changes significantly as the drive is rotated, and
GT2 Belt drive design manual
®
The correct
Minimum
7
UK