Belt Slip

• Belt slip in vbelt pulleys
• Consequences of Belt Slip
• Belt slip monitoring systems
• Belt Maintenance & Inspection best-practice for belt slip prevention
• Belt slip monitoring case studies
• Further information about belt slip monitoring

Belt slip in vbelt pulleys:
V-belts must be correctly tensioned. If a v-belt is too slack, it will begin to slip on the pulley during operation. V-belt slip is a major contributing factor to v-belt failure leading to catastrophic failure in critical drives and assets.

V-belt monitoring systems, designed by Senssystems Ltd, that can detect belt slip are increasingly employed in industrial applications to monitor v-belt driven machinery such as pumps, compressors and conveyors.

The SENSSLIP® range of belt slip monitoring systems offer an affordable and highly effective means to continuously monitor and detect belt slip, enabling maintenance personnel to correctly tension belts to prolong belt life, reduce energy wastage and reduce the occurrence of belt failures in service.

Consequences of Belt Slip:

• Energy wastage – reduced power transfer between pulleys means that increased power input is required, using more electricity. As much as 7% electricity used to power a v-belt drive can be lost through belt slip.
• Increased risk of belt failure leading to downtime– increased friction from belt slip leads to belt burn-off (also known as burn-out).
• Increased wear on v-belts
• Increased wear on pulley sheaves

Belt slip monitoring systems:
The SENSSLIP® belt slip monitoring system (patent pending) is a simple and reliable system for monitoring almost all kinds of belt drives and conveyors. Designed to be robust and accurate, SENSSLIP® is the first system of its kind to remove the need for constant inspection and unnecessary belt replacement.

The SENSSLIP® system is a valuable aid in the fight to reduce energy wastage. By alerting users to the energy lost by a slipping belt drive it can save thousands in improved efficiency. Its ability to keep watch on remote or difficult to access machinery and transmit its data wirelessly makes it particularly suitable for plants spread out over a wide area.

Belt Maintenance & Inspection best-practice for belt slip prevention:
Belts need to be correctly tensioned and correctly fitted – damage can be caused if the v belt is pushed or pried over the edge of the pulley sheave.

Pulleys should be inspected for any signs of wear, and sheave gauges are available for checking for wear. Incorrect mounting of pulleys is a common cause of wear and failure, due to causing misalignment in the transmission line.

A rule of thumb is that vbelt drive pulley misalignment should not exceed 5mm per 500mm of drive centre distance.

Gates claim that a 10% over-tensioning of vbelts results in a 10% reduction in pulley bearing life.

Frequency of vbelt inspection usually depends on a number of factors linked to the drive itself, and includes:

• Criticality of drive in relation to production or process
• Environment (including temperature, humidity and cleanliness)
• Operating Speed
• Operating Load
• Frequency of stop / starting
• Accessibility

Belt slip monitoring case studies:

• Corus reduce Energy Wastage thanks to belt slip Monitoring System
• Yorkshire Water Utilise SensSystems belt slip Monitoring System In Pursuit Of Operating Excellence

Download the SENSSLIP® belt slip monitoring system brochure for further information about the benefits of continuous belt slip monitoring for the prevention of v belt slip.

Further information about belt slip monitoring:

The SENSSLIP® range of belt slip monitoring systems are designed and manufactured by SensSystems Ltd.

Please contact us for sales, technical and installation information regarding belt slip monitoring systems, or to discuss the benefits of belt slip monitoring in a specific industrial application. +44(0) 1142 541241 or alternatively, Email: info@senssystems.com