Industrial belts have the capability of handling a myriad range of power and speed transmission requirements. This has fueled further research and development and given an array of different belt-drive designs.
The belts can be primarily classified into 7 main types which are:
- Open belt drive
It is the most basic kind of belt drive in which 2 or more pulleys are interconnected with a belt wrapped around them. After supplying the power to drive the shaft, it causes rotation in the driving pulley.
- Cross belt drive
This is the kind of drive used when 2 pulleys need to rotate in the opposite direction. Between 2 pulleys, the belt comes in contact and the rubbing causes friction. This can be eradicated by installing pulleys at the maximum allowed distance.
- Stepped cone drive
This kind of belt drive utilizes a pulley with multiple diameters. As the pulley holds similarity with the stepped cone, it is called the stepped cone pulley drive. The most common applications for this type of drive are drilling machines and lathes.
- Fast and loose cone pulley
This drive consists of 2 pulleys one is loose and the other is fast. The loose pulley is placed without a key so that it may rotate freely relative to the shaft. Whereas the fast pulley is placed on the shaft so that it may rotate at the exact same speed as the shaft.
- Quarter turn belt drive
Most of the belt drives can work along with the parallel shaft. These belts have 2 perpendicular shafts and for making the belt to stay in place the width of pulleys must be at least approximately 40% wider than the cross section of the belt.
Each of these belts renders numerous benefits over others in specific situations. The 5 most popular shapes are round belt, flat belt, V belt, toothed belt, and link belt.
Some of the benefits of the round belts are written as follows:
- Available in various sizes, textures, and colors
- Economical
- No fraying
- Durable and strong
- Fit various pulley shapes
Other than this flat belts are one of the most common types of industrial belts. Some of the remarkable features of flat belts are:
- It can render high power
- Low noise operation
- No need for grooves
- High flexibility
- Can be reinforced for greater strength
There are myriad advantages of the belts are written as follows:
- These belt drives are affordable and have high efficiency
- These are able to transmit power over long distances
- Operates smoothly and quietly
- They have low maintenance costs
- Overload protection from the slipping of the belt
“Smart conveyors” are in excessive demand
The application of smart conveyors in food packaging discharging and automation in the conveyor belts is a prominent factor for the rising demand. Conveyors utilize technology-driven operators to control communications including functional engineering designs.
Smart conveyors can be obtained from vendors and they are adopted on a high level due to their several advantages. In fact, so many organizations are utilizing these belts for data records. Smart conveyors have traceability and sanitary applications.
Furthermore, the smart conveyors are utilized to register soak times, water temperature, spray jet pressure, cleaning solution conductivity and wet cleaning stages.
Industrial belt drives market size is anticipated to reach up to USD 10.1 billion by the end of the year 2035. The growth drivers for the market are as follows:
- Rising agricultural industry
- Increase adoption of automation
- Rising popularity of IoT
- Growing demand for sustainability
The various applications of the industrial belt drives are various sectors such as the material handling industry, agriculture, mining & minerals, and industrial machinery.
- Material Handling Industry
The usage of belt drives helps in improving the process flow and also assuaging the cost. In fact, it is also useful for safety purposes and more reliable than various other kinds of power transmission systems.
- Industrial Machinery
The industrial belt is widely used in various types of machines to render help in power transmission. Some of the most common uses of these belts include mixers, presses, pumps, and conveyors. They are also utilized to assuage vibration and noise.
- Agriculture, mining and minerals
Some of the applications of the belts include mixers, conveyors, pumps, and presses. These systems are also used to improve the performances of the machines by rendering reliable and smooth power transmission.
Furthermore, in the agriculture sector, the belt is used in a wide range of applications such as grain handling, irrigation, livestock, and feed processing. Over the traditional mechanical drive system, belts provide efficiency, improved reliability, and reduced wear and tear.
Some of the prominent companies are Dayco, ContiTech, Fenner, Gates, etc, which are the leading manufacturers of belt drives.
Regional analysis for the market:
The Asia Pacific region is one of the most profitable regions offering lucrative opportunities. The market growth can be attributed to the rising operations related to mining, especially in India and China.
The second region is North America which is anticipated to render growth opportunities for the market players. The reason for the growth can be attributed to the rising construction and aviation industry.
Other than this, Europe is also among the high profit-making markets owing to a growing focus on energy sustainability and efficiency.
Source: Research Nester