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Originally Posted by santyclaz
how do you connect conveyer belt to itself? they come in strips so when you wrap it around something how do you connect the ends? thanks
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Yes, you CAN buy them preformed in an endless loop, but there is a specialized hydraulic press "staple gun machine" that does the "long stapling" which conveyor belt suppliers use to convert linear stock into loops. This is that "staple row" you see on supermarket belts.
The staples are prefabricated into V-strips, with the tips of the V bent over and pointing at each other. Think of this staple run as looking a LOT like the end view of a standard office "staple claw". The strip is dispensed from a giant reel, and is cut to the length needed for the job. When you squeeze the sides, the two sides will "inject" themselves permanently into the belt from each side, like a gripper closing. The wire the staples are made out of is somehing like spring steel. Therefore, it takes a LOT of pressure to perform a permanent deformation of the metal...
Procedure they use (I've watched it performed while making our team's belts
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1) Cut the belt to the length and width desired.
2) If using a gummy-belt (or other "treaded" belt), you first have to shave off a strip of the raised nubs, to give you a flat surface for the staples!
3) Cut two appropriate lengths of the V-staples from the supply reel. Depending on the size, you may use either heavy duty diagonal, or bolt cutters.
4) Load the specialized hydraulic press die with the V-staple run. Insert the trimmed end of the belt into the die. (The die keeps everything in line.)
5) Cycle the air or motor assisted hydraulic press, with a few tons of force...
6) Repeat 2-5 for other end.
You now have what looks like a belt with a series of loops at the end of each one.
7) Place the two ends of the belt onto yet ANOTHER jig, which pulls it so the "loop fingers" interlock.
8) you now take the associated size coated wire, and thread it down the center between the loops to lock them together as a "hinge wire". This may require a jig with a separate squeeze tensioner, to form the space through which you thread the hinge wire.
9) Trim the hinge wire to length and terminate the ends to keep it from slipping out. Options include spot welding it to the wire loops, folding over the ends of the wire, crimping the end with ANOTHER special tool, etc...
So, as you can see, unless a company is a BIG user of belts, the tooling investment simply isn't worth it. It's a significant sized hydraulic cylinder, along with some custom dies for each size of staple. That's why you normally have the conveyor belt distributor to do it for you when you buy the belting from them, as part of the package price (think of it as "buying belts with ends").
Whenever we use a conveyor or a tread, we have the conveyor belt distributor premake our belts (and spares) FOR us. I just have them keep the ends disconnected, and have a short supply of the Hinge Wire. The TEAM can then insert the wire into the belt like a "key" to lock it together, or pull it out to separate it for servicing or belt replacement. You often have to cut the hinge wire to remove it, which is why I maintained a small supply of matching replacement hinge wire.
OTOH, We have also used gummy belt before as TIRE belting, over a solid wheel. In THAT case, I do NOT connect the ends. We simply cut some to length to wrap the tire. I then use a Dremel and a grinding stone cylinder to "burn off" a series of recessed flats into the tread's rubberized part. I then drill the pilot hole through the belt, and use either pop-rivets or flathead screws to attach it to the wheel itself. This recessing keeps the "screwheads" away from the carpeting. Note you don't NEED to connect the ends of the belt, IF you have screws along the mating edge. I progress from one end to the other, to insure it is kept taut around the wheel.
I hope this helps give you a better sense of how conveyor belts work, and how they're applied.
- Keith