Factors Affecting Transmission Error in Helical Synchronous Belt With Error on Belt Side Face Under Bidirectional Operation

Helical synchronous belt drives are effective for reducing the noise and transmission error per single pitch of a pulley, as compared with conventional synchronous belt drives. However, the helix angle of the tooth trace causes axial belt movement. When the belt comes into contact with the pulley flange or moves away from the pulley flange due to bidirectional operation, the accuracy of finishing on the belt side face affects the transmission error. In addition, various factors, such as the transmitted torque, installation tension, pitch difference between the belt and the pulley, and alignment error between the driving and driven pulleys in the axial direction, are considered to affect the behavior of the transmission error. In the present study, the influence of various factors on the transmission error in a helical synchronous belt with the error on the belt side face was investigated. Specifically, the case in which a flanged pulley is rotated in bidirectional operation under the quasi-static condition and transmitted torque was examined. The transmission error in bidirectional operation considering the error on the belt side face increased with an increase in the transmitted torque, but was reduced when the installation tension was set to be high and when the pitch difference on the driving side was smaller than that on the driven side. In addition, the accuracy of rotation transmission improved when the alignment between the pulleys in the axial direction was set so that the belt on the driving side came into contact with the pulley flange earlier than the belt on the driven side.