Thread: Belt Drives
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Unread 04-10-2010, 13:41
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Re: Belt Drives

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris is me View Post
Fun question: I've heard that belt drives never stretch. Does that mean if you CAD appropriately and use exactly the right belts, you don't need tensioners other than to more fully engage pulleys? I've seen photos of 1717 robots with belts used without tensioners before... Are they a requirement, or just nice to have?
When I was in HS I designed two transmissions for a CNC plasma cutter using belts, without tensioning mechanisms. I recently visited my old HS and found that both belts are still tight 5 years later. Very encouraging.

While my team has never used belts for the drive system, we've used them on roller systems in 2001 and 2003 and in 2002 for swerve drive steering. None of these had tensioner systems and they worked well.
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