14
Belt Installation Tension
Proper belt installation tension is essential in V-belt and synchronous
drives for optimum performance and reliability. The correct 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 belt drive design manual or to the
DesignFlex
®
Pro
™
belt drive selection program located at:
http://www.gates.com/designflex
The following belt drive design manuals listed below may be helpful:
Poly Chain
®
GT
®
Carbon
™
Belt Drive Design Manual #17595
Light Power and Precision Drive Design Manual #17183
Heavy-Duty V-Belt Drive Design Manual #14995-A
PowerGrip
®
GT
®
3 Belt Drive Design Manual #17195
These catalogs can be downloaded from www.gates.com/catalog or
contact Gates Application Engineering at (303) 744-5800.
Tips on Using the Sonic Tension Meter
The 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 the Gates Sonic Tension Meter:
Consistent Readings
• After the correct constants have been entered into the meter, take
at least three readings to confirm that results are consistent and the
meter is not erroneously reading background noise.
Minimum Belt Span Length
• When measuring the tension in synchronous belts, use spans that are
more than 20 times the length of 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.
• When measuring the tension in V-belts, use spans that are more than
30 times the belt top width. Using spans shorter than this may result
in readings that are higher than the actual tension due to belt cross-
sectional stiffness.
SonicTensionMeter_Manual_4_14.indd 14 4/26/14 9:09 AM
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