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Elastic, Stretchy Flat Belting and Belts move heavy loads

Elastic stretchy urethane.
Thicknesses: .031", .050" .063", .094", .125", .313" (.8mm, 1.3mm, 1.6mm, 2.4mm, 3.2mm, 8mm)
For .032" thickness, any width up to 12" (305mm).
For .050" and .062" thickness, any width up to 34.5" (876mm).
For .094" and .125" thickness, any width up to 18" (457mm).
Our .313" (8mm) thick belts are .401" (10.2mm) and .625" (16mm) wide and have round edges or sides.
Any length above 3.5" (89mm)
Colors: clear .031" & .063" (.8mm & 3.2mm), black .050" &.063" (1.3mm & 1.6mm), and orange .094" & .125" (2.4mm & 3.2mm)
Durometers: 78A, 83A, 85A, 87A, 92A, 95A

Elastic Stretchy Flat Belt

Tracking Sleeves

Crowns rollers -- prevents flat belts from walking.
Fits tightly under flat belt -- see red sleeve in picture.
Usually only one is installed on drive roller.
Easily installed with our RAVE technique.
Stays put. Will not move.
Available in several different sizes:
- .031" thick 92A for belts up to 1.5" (38mm) wide
- .062" thick 83A for belts up to 34.5" (876mm) wide
- Sleeve width from 20% to 50% of flat belt width

Red Tracking Sleeve under Flat Belt

Note: The actual sleeves are clear not red.

Wide Flat Belts on Rollers

Wide elastic belts can move heavier loads. Flat belts have much more surface contact area than round belts so slipping is virtually eliminated. Our flat belts do not need belt tensioners or V-guides. Low bending loses makes them extremely energy efficient. Lets you use low powered, inexpensive MDRs to move heavy boxes on long zones. Powered roller should be located on downstream end (see red end caps in picture). Available in any width up to 34.5" (876mm) in 1/32" and 1/16" (.8mm and 1.6mm) thicknesses. Any width up to 18" wide (457mm) in orange 3/32" and 1/8" (2.4mm and 3.2mm) thicknesses.

Flat belts move heavier loads

Flat Belts Increase Motorized
Roller Zone Length

Round belts usually limit powered motorized roller zone length because the belt's thin area of roller contact limits the amount of torque that can be transferred before round belts begin to slip. Wide urethane flat belts do not have this limitation, so slipping is virtually eliminated. Therefore, zone lengths of 20 or more rollers are possible. In fact, except for extremely heavy boxes, the only thing that limits zone length is the torque of the motorized roller. Since our wide flat belts are elastic, they do not need expensive belt tensioners or V-guides, so they can be retrofitted onto conveyors without changing rollers. Our flat belts are more economical than our Poly-V^® multi-ribbed belts because they do not need grooved rollers. However, Poly-V belts are better at moving extremely heavy loads, even pallets, at very high speeds. For more information click here.

flat belts on long powered motorized roller zones

Flat belts on long motorized roller zones
(20 rollers or more)

Due to larger mass, wide flat belts are stretched much less than round belts. For example, our 1/16" (1.6mm) thick x 4" (100mm) wide belts are typically stretched 3.3%. Please use our belt tension calculator to determine acceptable tension and stretch for your width and thickness

Flat Belts on Inclines/Declines

16 Degrees. New matte surfaces on our elastic flat belts shun dust and give them a higher coefficient of friction (COF), even in dusty environments, so they can move boxes and paper bubble envelopes on inclines and declines of up to 16 degrees*, 33% greater than our old version. These elastic belts move heavier boxes than most other stretchy belts and require no expensive belt tensioners or V-guides. Probably the lowest cost wide flat belts, seventeen miles of these new inexpensive belts are in major distribution warehouses and have been moving 60 lb. (27 kg) boxes up 16° inclines for over four years. They probably can move heavier boxes on the same incline or decline, but customers would need to test it first. Proven quality, the old version has been serving customers for over 20 years.

45 degrees. With 7/32" tall orange cleats fused to our belts, boxes can move on inclines and declines of up to 45° as in the adjacent picture.

Flat belts move boxes on inclines/declines of up to 16 degrees

New surfaces on our stretchy flat belts move
boxes up 16° inclines, 33% higher

Flat belts with orange cleats move boxes
on inclines/declines of up to 45 degrees

Flat belts much wider than long
(Short, wide flat belts)

Some flat belt experts will tell you that flat belts need to be longer than they are wide in order to track properly (not walk sideways). Dura-Belt's elastic flat belts are the exception. Our flat belts will track regardless of the length to width ratio. Adjacent is one that is 34.5" wide on 9" centers.

Short, wide flat belt

Urethane has a high coefficient of friction on
metal and UHMW slider beds, so the resultant
friction will overheat our belts, cause them
to lose their elasticity and fail prematurely

Stretchy elastic belts can track on
roller grooves without tracking sleeves, belt tensioners or V-guides

Our stretchy elastic flat belts can track on roller grooves without tracking sleeves. They work well for some conveyor manufacturers, but others have had problems with the belts walking after a long periods, perhaps because the rollers are not perfectly parallel. If that happens, the remedy is simple and inexpensive -- just add tracking sleeves. See tracking sleeves.

In order to track without tracking sleeves, specify the belt width so it extends 5/16"(8mm) beyond the edges of the roller groove edges. After the belt is stretched on the rollers, the belt edges will bend slightly over the groove edges. This causes the belt to act as if there were two v-guides on each belt edge, thereby eliminating the need for tracking sleeves, roller crowns, v-guides or belt tensioners. Frames must be square (not warped). To keep the rollers aligned,the gap between endcaps and frame can be kept constant by using felt or plastic washers. Initial belt tension should be 80 lbs.

Installation may appear difficult, but it is much easier than it looks. Simply grasp the last roller, insert its shaft into one frame hole, and insert a flat screw driver in the unused adjacent hole in the opposite frame, i.e., the hole used to skew rollers, usually 1" from the target hole. Now press the screw drive blade against the roller edge, using the hole as a fulcrum, and leverage the roller into the target hole. The hex shaft is perfectly oriented to the hex target hole, so it snaps in quickly -- only takes a few seconds. If there are no skew holes, then you would need to drill one. The elimination of tracking sleeves, v-guides and belt tensioners greatly reduces costs and speeds up assembly.

Elastic flat belt tracks on roller grooves

*Note that different container surfaces may behave differently on any flat belt surface. For example, our matte side can convey boxes and paper bubble envelopes on inclines/declines up to 16 degrees, but plastic envelopes will slip. Therefore, you should test your containers carrying different weights on one of our inclined/declined flat belts before purchasing large quantities.