Rhino Tread Delamination

[Caitlinnnnn99]

After driving our robot around for a couple hours we noticed that the tread started to delaminate from the belt. Is anyone else having this issue? If so, any recommended solutions? Does anyone know if AndyMark warranties this product?

[Bluman56]

I believe 3044 also had this problem but they sourced their belts from Brecoflex. Might be a universal issue? Not sure. I hope this gets figured out especially since we are also using the rhino drive.

[EricH]

You may want to send AndyMark an email. Be detailed about the problem; any information that you think might be useful should be included (runtime, tension, possibly storage conditions).

AM is FAST at responding.

[dradel]

Contact andymark. Call them and email them. They have great customer service, and will more than likely work with you to make you whole.

[dradel]

But then I looked closer at the pic, and see the non andymark pulleys.

[ratdude747]

Originally Posted by dradel

But then I looked closer at the pic, and see the non andymark pulleys.

Shouldn't matter if it was an AM belt.

[BoilerMentor]

Originally Posted by ratdude747

Shouldn't matter if it was an AM belt.

Sorry to contradict you, but I respectfully disagree.

It's the same reason people void warranties on all sorts of things. You can't purchase a component from a manufacturer, use it clearly outside of the intended use case (in this situation, not using the appropriate pulleys) and expect a product to be warrantied.

Kudos to AM for exploring a solution even though this is the case.

[ratdude747]

Originally Posted by BoilerMentor

Sorry to contradict you, but I respectfully disagree.

It's the same reason people void warranties on all sorts of things. You can't purchase a component from a manufacturer, use it clearly outside of the intended use case (in this situation, not using the appropriate pulleys) and expect a product to be warrantied.

Kudos to AM for exploring a solution even though this is the case.

I see your point although I'd point out that the pulleys (at least in the picture) look to be larger which would create less flex which in turn should make the belt less likely to de-laminate.

Also, a lot of AM products are intended for custom installation; the warranty is good, as long as you don't modify the product or do something obviously dumb (like we did in 2010 to that poor AM2's dog gears).

If you look at AM's listing, they mention having pulleys that are specifically designed for the belt, but nowhere do they say that the pulleys are the "intended" use of the product. I personally interpret that to mean that as long as you're not abusing them, for warranty purposes, you're covered.

I do agree that it is nice that AM goes to so much trouble to investigate reported issues.

[Mr. Ackroyd]

Team 3044 here.

we did have the same issue but the belts were sourced from BrecoFlex. The problem turned out to be the result of a large influx of orders by FRC teams and the company was pulling all stock they had on hand to get orders out. This in turn weakened their manufacturing process and the belts we not heat welded long enough.. The company was great to work with and they sent new belts free of charge.

It looks like a similar issue where the belts were not heat welded long enough. I would recommend finding spares for competition. Once the delamination process began, it was a matter of ten minutes before the belts came off the treads..

good luck and i hope the re-gluing works

[marshall]

Any word on if the glue is holding for these?

[Electronica1]

Because it hasn't been mentioned yet, Brecoflex told us that shoe goo is supposed to work really well if you are using rubber backings.

[BoilerMentor]

Originally Posted by marshall

Any word on if the glue is holding for these?

No issues with out AM sourced belts and pulleys through 19 very, very competitive district matches.

[dradel]

I agree. And now that I think about it probably won't matter to am.

[Andy Baker]

We have seen a couple of cases of this de-lamination. I have spoke with the supplier of these belts, and here is their recommendation:

• They use a rubber base cement that has great bonding properties to adhere the tread (roughtop carbox, in this case) to the urethane timing belt material.
• Your customer can contact any 3M or Loctite distributor and find a good adhesive for rubber to rubber adhesion.
• The main thing is to clean both surfaces and let the solvents evaporate and bond according to the directions.
• It will need to be clamp off with normal pressure to get the curing out and good bond.

I hope this helps. Another team is trying out "Gel Control CA Super Glue" from LocTite. We will try the same thing, or something similar early this week.

Andy B.