Conveyor Belts Types and Terms

  • Anti-static belts dissipate static electric charges on conveyors where static buildup is undesireable.
  • Anti-vibration belts minimize vibrations throughout conveyor systems, which is necessary with misaligned pulleys. These vibrations slowly abrade and stretch belts.
  • Armored belts have crosswise insertions in the cover, made of materials like steel, to decrease tearing by sharp conveyed objects.
  • Cable belts are belts reinforced with cables. Made from various metals, these cables add a great amount of strength along the length of the belt.
  • Conveyor belt is a seemingly endless belt made for carrying materials from one place to another.
  • Endless round belts (o-ring belts) are single piece belts that use similar materials as o-rings. Urethane endless round belts are elastomeric, which means that they are designed to stretch and do not require belt tension.
  • Fin belts have fin-like structures protruding from the belts themselves, making them useful in applications such as catching containers and moving them into boxes.
  • Flat belts are linear belts used in conveyor systems.
  • Multi-speed - belts can be used in variable speed applications such as automobiles and snowmobiles.
  • Rubber belts are uniform bands that are made of an elastic material that originates from the sap of various tropical plants. The rubber tree is the primary source for rubber-making materials.
  • Twisted belts are designed to replace endless round belts that are damaged or destroyed. These belts are quickly and easily installed without needing to dismantle the drive shafts.
  • V-belts have a v-shaped profile. There are many variations of the v-belt, but most are either standard or inverted.
  • Wire mesh belts use metal instead of rubber or rubber compounds, made from a varying grade of stainless steel or carbon steel. The cooling characteristics make these belts useful for applications such as breading and cooling.

Automatic Take-Up - A device that is used to maintain the proper level of tension in a conveyor belt, in order to compensate for the stretch and shrinkage it undergoes.
 
Backstop - Device that stops an elevator conveyor belt from falling backwards after it has been stopped.
 
Bed - The surface over which a conveyor belt slides.
 
Belt Clamp - Beams or metal plates at either end of a conveyor belt, used to hold it in place.
 
Belt Fastener - Holds the ends of belts together.
 
Belt Installer
- A simple tool used to install a belt on a roller system. With belt installers, installation occurs more quickly and does not have to be done by hand.
 
Belt Width - The distance across a conveyor belt, measured from the outside end of a rod on one side to the outside end of the rod on the other side.
 
Carrying Run - The part of the conveyor belt that carries the load between loading and discharge points.
 
C-Clip - A device clamped to shafts and used to hold spools in place.
 
Clinched Selvage - Locking the connecting rods so that the end of one rod is looped back through an extra hole on each edge of the belt and bent so that is parallel with the strip.
 
Drive Sprockets - Used to pull the loaded conveyor under power, located at the discharge end of the conveyor.
 
Drive Tension - The total tension a conveyor belt can handle without failing.
 
Flexing - The bending of a conveyor belt.
 
Immediate Set - The amount of deformation measured on a conveyor belt immediately after the load is removed.
 
Impact Resistance - A belt's ability to absorb load impact without damage.
 
Lateral Pitch - Distance measured across the belt width, between the center of one drive opening and the center of the next.
 
Mesh - An openwork structure or fabric. In the belting industry, wire mesh serves as a heavy-duty belt material configuration.
  
Pulley - A simple device that consists of a wheel containing a grooved rim. The belt or chain connected to the pulley can change direction and lift a load; pulleys are usually attached to both ends of belting systems.
 
Reefed - When a belt is folded back and forth on itself.
 
Splice - Connecting between two ends of a belt by interweaving both sides together.
 
Spool - Serves as a clutch in the belting industry. When boxes are jammed, spools slip and prevent the belts from abrading; also, when hands or hair get caught in a roller, the spool kicks in and allows for safe recovery.