Conveyor belt

“ There is not one establishment in one hundred that does not leave the care and tightening of the belts to the judgment of the individual who runs the machine, although it is well known to all who have given any study to the subject that the most skilled machinist cannot properly tighten a belt without the use of belt clamps fitted with spring balances to properly register the tension. ”

“ Metal band conveyors are tightened in the same way as textile or rubber bands, and may run at a speed of 60 to 120 ft. per minute. The driving gear must always be placed at the delivery terminal, so that the loaded strand is in tension. Such appliances are often used as sorting tables or picking bands, for instance, for coal, cement, minerals, &c.
In another modification of the metal band conveyor, the travelling trough conveyor, the sides of each plate are turned up so as to form the conveying surface of the band into a continuous trough. ”

“ All the gears on the Jack Shaft revolve in the same direction as the shaft itself. This reduces considerably the work the cone belt has to do, saves power, and gives more accurate winding and evener and better work. ”

“ The New Conveyor Company’s conveyor consists of a water-tight trough through which pass closely-fitting tray plates, attached to a single chain. These plates are joggled down at one end to receive the flat front part of the succeeding plate, with the aim of excluding the breeze from the under part of the carrying plate. The chain is made entirely of steel with side rollers attached to every third plate, the plates, 1⁄4 in. thick, are dished in the shape of a tray, which is less liable to distortion (from heat) than a flat plate. The speed of travel is about 45 ft. ”

“ It was also old, and very common in machine shops and factories of various kinds, to provide an individual machine with a countershaft mounted directly in the machine frame, the counter-shaft being driven by a belt from the line-shaft, and the machine by a belt from the counter-shaft. ”

“ Next in importance is to buy a belt that has already been filled with some good waterproof dressing. It is quite likely that to buy a belt that has been filled means to buy one that perhaps has some bad leather in it that would be seen in a dry oak tan belt, and also that the adhesive power of the filled belt is not quite equal to the dry one ”

“ In all of our new construction, each machine has its individual electric motor, but in the older construction we had to use belts. Every belt is guarded. Over the automatic conveyors are placed bridges so that no man has to cross at a dangerous point. Wherever there is a possibility of flying metal, the workman is required to wear goggles and the chances are further reduced by surrounding the machine with netting. Around hot furnaces we have railings. There is nowhere an open part of a machine in which clothing can be caught. ”

“ Joint A B is now only 10 inches, and we have 10 inches plus 4 inches plus 4 inches times 36 inches which equals 648 square inches, and the lead on the joint is now 14.44 pounds. You will readily perceive what an important part in the life of the belt, and the life of everything around the belt as far as that goes, the proper breaking of the upper and lower joints is. Of course the belt maker will tell you that his glue is just as strong as the leather itself, and he is about right as long as you keep the belt free from oil and water ”

“ To still further reduce the wire-edge for very fine work, the operator sometimes uses a piece of leather belt, either glued to a piece of wood, as upon the lid of the oil-stone box, or some attach it at each end to projecting pieces of wood, while yet others lap the tool upon the palm of the hand. ”

“ The reason is that the load was all taken off the inside half of the belt by point slipping, thereby making the inside of the belt too long and putting all the load on the outside. The outside will continue to do all the work until it stretches enough to bring the inside back into service again. ”

“ We have not stopped at flat link belting, but have turned our attention to manufacturing round solid leather link belting, and believe that we have almost attained perfection in that line. As the illustrations clearly show, there is quite a demand for inch and upward solid round belting, and the difficulty always has been to join such a belt together. All steel hooks, etc., do not seem to satisfy. This, our new invention, is so simple that it hardly needs explanation. A belt of this kind can be taken apart in a short time, and shortened or lengthened at pleasure. ”

“ From the construction, the rivets joining the pieces forming the belt do not come into contact with the surfaces of the pulley, and from the tension of the belt causing it to wedge into the sides of the pulley groove, the driving power is greater than that simply due to the area of contact and the tension of the belt. ”

“ When the edge gets a trifle dull, use the small steel on both sides of the edge; first wet the steel with the lips, it makes a much better edge. For the benefit of beginners who may attempt to splice a belt for the first time, do not use a glue that will not allow you to remove the clamps and put on the full load in forty-five minutes after the glue has been applied and well rubbed down. The time given here applies only to clean belts that are absolutely free from all oils, and does not include old oil-soaked leather that no glue will ever dry on. ”

“ There is no class of appliances so little understood by the ordinary steam engineer and steam user as belts, which may be seen by the quantity of belting sold annually. Where one can point to a belt that has been in continuous use for twenty years, you can find hundreds that do not last one-fourth as long. Why? Not always because the buyer has tried to get something for nothing, but as a rule, when they do, they get nothing for something. ”

“ It is obvious that the arc of contact taken to calculate the belt power must be the least that exists on either the driving or the driven pulley, because when the belt slips it ceases to transmit the full amount of the power it receives, the remainder being expended in the friction caused by the belt slipping over the pulley. ”

“ GUTTA-PERCHA FOR BELTS, HARNESSES, &C. Belts of leather may be put together by this cement, which adds greatly to their wear and durability, not being in the least affected by dampness, neither by the oils which may come in contact with them from the machinery. In cutting up belt for harness leather, there is usually great waste and loss of stock, as portions of the sides are very thin, and unfit for use. But by this process every particle may be saved. Cut the stock the proper width, stretch it, then raise a strong thick fibre on all the thin parts and the laps. ”

“ Bend a ring on one end of the wire and stick the other end through a hole punched in the center of the belt. The ring will prevent the wire from passing through the leather, and it should be bent in such a manner that the hook end of the wire will hang downward when the width of the belt is vertical. These hooks are placed about 2 in. apart for the length of the belt, allowing sufficient ends for a buckle and holes. The strap can be buckled around a tree or tent pole.—Contributed by W. C. Loy, Rochester, Ind.
Never stand in a direct line of a swiftly revolving object, such as an emery wheel. ”

“ Belt dealers and makers, like almost all other dealers in supplies, aim to get nothing but first-class goods; but second and third, and even fourth-class goods, are made, and you get the quality you pay for. In the second place, belts wear out quickly because they do not get proper care. ”

“ The shaft to be straightened is rotated by the friction caused by its own weight as it lies between rollers, which saves the trouble of placing the shaft upon centres. Furthermore, the belt that is the prime mover of the gears driving these rollers is driven from the line shaft itself without the aid of any belt pulley. The tension of this driving belt is so adjusted that it will just drive the heaviest shaft the machine will straighten ”

“ When the direction of rotation of the driven pulley requires to be reversed from that of the driving pulley, the belt is crossed as in Fig. 2670. A crossed belt has a greater transmitting power than one uncrossed (or, as it is termed, than an “open belt”) because it envelops a greater arc of both pulleys’ circumference. This is often of great advantage where the two pulleys are of widely varying diameter, especially if the small pulley requires to transmit much power, and be of very small diameter. ”

“ Then take out the screw at the right hand side of the machine part and slip off the upper belt wheel. This upper belt wheel, the belt, the lower belt wheel, and the iron framework of the machine are all that will be needed for the lathe, and the rest you may discard, or put away in the “handy” pile for some future construction. The lower belt wheel is of course fastened to the frame, so that does not need to be disturbed. ”

“ Lacing is not stronger in proportion as it is heavy. If it is heavy and clumsy it gets strained in going round the pulley, and soon gives out. The ideal way to lace a belt is to make it as nearly like the rest of the belt as possible, so that it will go over the pulleys without a jar. The ends of the belt should be cut off square with a try square, and a small punch used for making holes. Holes should be equally spaced, and outside ones not so near the edge as to tear out. ”

“ The ordinary method of lacing a leather belt is to make the laces straight on the pulley side, all running in the same direction as the movement of the belt, and crossing them on the outside diagonally in both directions. ”

“ Now to mend a belt seems the easiest thing going, and so it is when you merely have to hammer a fastening through it and turn the ends over. But in this car you have to make the joint with coils of twisted wire. Simple as it is to do in a workshop, this belt-mending is a most irritating affair by the roadside, and when done I found by subsequent experiences that the wires wear through and tear out after less than a hundred miles. ”

“ The average belt is a poor one, and the average buyer will not find it out till he has used it for some time. If you weigh the belt dealer up as a man who is trying to rob you, beat him down in price, then get him to give from 5 to 40 per cent. ”

“ Furthermore, belt connections are lighter and cheaper than gear-wheel or other rigid and positive connections, and hence the wide application of leather belts for the transmission of power, notwithstanding the slight variations of pulley velocity ratio due to the unequal elasticity of the various parts of the leather composing the belt. ”

“ Large belts of engines, dynamos, motors, etc., when in need of taking-up are usually attended to when the plant is shut down; that is, nights, Sundays or legal holidays. At such times power is not to be had; and if the spliced part of the belt, which must be opened, shortened, scraped, re-cemented and hammered, happens to be resting against the face of one of the pulleys, is up between some beams or down in a pit, the chances of the job, if done at all, being any good are very slim. ”

“ IMPROVED METHOD OF TIGHTENING THE CONE BELT does away with frequent taking-up. When slack, the belt may be tightened in a few moments by means of a Quadrant Bracket. Over 5 in. of stretch can be taken care of without re-piecing. A great saving is effected in labor, stoppages and cone belts.
WINDING BACK THE RACK AND CONE BELT is done from the front of the machine.
IMPROVED SYSTEM OF BALANCING THE TOP OR BOBBIN RAIL—This rail, with its gearing, collars, bobbins, etc., is now supported under its center of gravity by a set of levers, thus relieving the slides and racks of this weight. ”

“ It will take two men with all the necessary tools and appliances at least six hours of good hard work to remove the oil from a well-soaked 36-inch belt—that is, to remove it to an extent sufficient to warrant the gluing of it. ”

“ With very large machines under test, it is inadvisable to use the above method as it is sometimes difficult to so adjust the pulleys and belt tension that the belt slip will be just right to make up for the difference in diameter of the pulleys, and very violent flapping of the belt results. ”

“ Another rule is, that at a velocity of 1000 ft. per min. each inch of breadth of belt should transmit 21/2 horse-power on metal pulleys, or 5 on wooden ones, on which the adhesion is greater. Adhesion may also be increased by covering the pulleys with leather or india-rubber. Both rules assume that the belt is of ample strength. One horse-power would be transmitted by a belt running 1000 ft. per min. with a pull of 33 lb. A good single belt should not break with a much less strain than 1000 lb. per inch of breadth, and should stand about 1/10 as much as a working strain. ”

“ Fig. 22 shows the machine properly mounted. The belt tension and pull tend to draw B corner of the machine toward the shaft C; and screw B1 is there to resist this pull. Owing to this resistance and the pull along line D, E tends to lift and slew around in E1 direction; screw E2 is, however, in a position to overcome both these tendencies. If the screws are both in front, there is nothing but the machine's weight to keep the back of it from tilting up. The absurdity of placing the screws at F and G, though even this is thoughtlessly done, needs no demonstration. ”

“ Adjustable centre pin, traversed by a screw, and fixed after adjustment by a nut and washer.
1953. Fine screw adjustment for any movable part.
1954. Fine screw adjustment for a radial arm.
1955. Division plate, with differential dividing on its opposite faces.
Belts, bands, &c., are adjusted by corresponding series of holes and laces, screws or rivets to fit them.
Section 3.—BELT GEARING. (See also p. 12.)
1956. Fast and loose pulleys; the fast pulley is larger in diameter than the loose pulley, to allow the belt to run slack when running idle.
1957. Round rubber belt gear. ”