Some of the maintenance folks we are working with prefer to use the V-belts that can be built up from individual links. Often these are thought of as temporary or emergency belts, but some manufacturers are now touting them as superior to conventional V-belts for long-term use.

See the website for one such manufacturer: Fenner PowerTwist Plus

My concerns include the need to pry these belts over the existing sheaves, potential vibration issues and resonance excitation due to the many elements in the belt, etc. Does anyone have any specific experience with these belts and the impact on vibration and machinery reliability, or general thoughts on some of the advantages and disadvantages of adopting these type belts for routine long-term use in belt-driven equipment.

Thanks,

Rich Wurzbach

rwurzbach@mrgcorp.comMaintenance Reliability Group

When I saw these belts for the first time 12+ years ago, the brand was linkbelt, saw them for a short time, since it was used for temporary solutions (but you know temporary solutions become permanent when the drive case is covered)
At the end we kicked them out, and demanded the right belt in stock.

After that I saw Linkbelt again but now on cranes and other heavy equipment.
Conclusion:
The linkbelt company resolved to do something taht was bringing in real money and abandoned the belts.

This is my assumption, but I could be totaly wrong.

We have been using these belts for a couple of years on our bowed rolls. These rolls are poorly designed and difficult to replace conventional V belts on. The engineers and mechanics love them. As the PM Tech, I suspect that they have led to a rise in motor bearing problems. By design, the twist belts have to be run tight for a couple of days, until they stretch. It is at this point where the motor drive side bearing is excessively loaded.

As far as the tricks we've learned - determine the number of links that work well for each application. Have that amount prepped for the shutdown. Connect the belt in a circle ( same as a conventional V belt ) around the roll. Tie a piece of narrow gauge rope thru one of the links. Start the belt onto the sheave. Bring the rope down thru the valley of the sheave and pull.

Hope this helps.

IMHO, these belts work in two applications:
1) When you have a breakdown, and nothing else will fit. But they are temporary.
2) When it is WAY too much trouble to get a normal belt on the sheaves, due to machinery blocking access.

We have "A", "B" and "C" stock of this type of belting, and use it for breakdowns. It just doesn't hold up too well. In normal applications, we can run a standard V-belt about 3 years or more. This link belting lasts about 1 year or less.

I don't think it's a bad product, just that it has a specific application, and is not suitable for permanent use.

Just my opinion,
Stan Riddle