V Belt Supply slippage can be addressed in several ways. Belt replacement is an obvious solution, and eventually the mandatory one (because no belt lasts forever). Often, though, before the replacement option is executed, retensioning (via pulley centerline adjustment) or dressing (with any of various coatings) may be successful to extend the belt's lifespan and postpone replacement. Belt dressings are typically liquids that are poured, brushed, dripped, or sprayed onto the belt surface and allowed to spread around; they are meant to recondition the belt's driving surfaces and increase friction between the belt and the pulleys. Some belt dressings are dark and sticky, resembling tar or syrup; some are thin and clear, resembling mineral spirits. Some are sold to the public in aerosol cans at auto parts stores; others are sold in drums only to industrial users.
Vibration signatures are widely used for studying belt drive malfunctions. Some of the common malfunctions or faults include the effects of belt tension, speed, sheaveeccentricity and misalignment conditions.The effect of sheave Eccentricity on vibration signatures of the belt drive is quite significant. Although, vibration magnitude is not necessarily increased by this it will create strong amplitude modulation. When the top section of a belt is in resonance, the vibrations of the machine is increased. However, an increase in the machine vibration is not significant when only the bottom section of the belt is in resonance. The vibration spectrum has the tendency to move to higher frequencies as the tension force of the belt is increased.
Rubber belts can be made from rubber strips glued end-to-end. Rubber cement will work OK. Much better is the glue used in innertube tire repair kits (bicycle shops have this.) Note that this glue has toxic fumes and probably shouldn't be used by kids except with adult supervision. I've heard that cyanoacrylate "crazy glue" works well, but have not tried it myself yet.
V Belt Global Supply material doesn't require feathering, but it's less sturdy. Belts made of thin balloon-rubber have a limited lifetime because the ozone and nitrides being generated by the corona-combs will attack the rubber chemically, making it brittle so it becomes full of holes.
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