Timing belts?

[raymond]

My school is having a robot competition and I want to have treads on my robot for better traction (robot tug of war). After some searching I decided that I would use timing belts as treads. However I am concerned because the measurements don't make sense on this site. http://www.amazonsupply.com/dp/B000FN67RM/ref=sp_dp_g2c_asin

These are bands of rubber that are 10 cm long and half a cm thick yet they are listed as one pound. Is that amazon policy? Is there any other problems with using them as treads?

 

[Peatmoss]

Use some duck tape with superglue on it, nothing is gonna be moving that robot! And maybe a couple toilet plungers to get it to stick to the ground also.

 

[Av8tor1]

if the surface is smooth, you will get better traction by putting the smooth side down

imagine snow tires on a dragster

or racing slicks on gravel....

all depends on the surface

pitch of a timing belt is measure from center of one tooth to the center of adjacent tooth

 

[raymond]

Is there anything unusual about the timing belt? Are timing belts heavy as the sipping weight was listed at one pound? The timing belts seem to small for their regular job(although they seem perfect for my job). Are they literally 10 cm long?

 

[adnedarn]

Vehicle timing belts vary greatly by application. Some specifically drive a camshaft, some drive 2 cams, and others also spin a water pump.... If you find one you're interested in, I would call your local car parts shop and see if they have one in stock and go see it. I would not think they are going to have the traction you're looking for.... They're not rubber bandy they are really similar to an accessory drive belt on the front of the motor (AC/PS/alternator/fan/etc) so a really hard rubber and they do not stretch.
Good luck, sounds like fun!
Andrew

 

[Av8tor1]

As long as you have at least a 6 tooth engagement, the strength of the teeth exceeds the load capacity of the tension members.

Timing belts do not need the physical stregth of a v-belt due to the higher mechanical efficiency. They do not require high tension to transmit the power via friction.

One probem inherit to timing belt is their tendency to walk off the sprocket due to their tension members being wound on a helix angle. In your applicaiton you might avoid this issue by making the drive wheel slightly convex in profile. In normal applications one or more of the sprockets will have belt guides to prevent this axial movement of the belt. (an idler sprocket with belt guidea would be a better solution and provide an increase in the arc of contact, assuming it was a flat idler)

exam in the morning