alt Hacker NewsBecause you'd have teeth rubbing out all through the course, which would eat them through very quickly, or you'd have to add toothed rollers throughout the course which would increase complexity tremendously.
Because you'd have teeth rubbing out all through the course, which would eat them through very quickly, or you'd have to add toothed rollers throughout the course which would increase complexity tremendously.
If I were designing it and wanted to extend the maintenance interval, I think I’d use something like a CVT for a tensioner. The drive pulley would wear as normal, and the tensioner would be of a harder material and cone-shaped. As the drive pulley wears, the tensioner slides toward the large end so that the diameter of the drive pulley and the diameter of the section of the tensioner in contact with the belt remains a consistent value.
You could probably use a roller on the back side of the drive pulley to automatically adjust it, too. No electromechanical stuff needed.
Oh, and add a “squealer” - a piece of metal that makes an awful racket once the drive pulley wears down to a critical point, prompting those responsible that it should be replaced before it begins to induce unacceptable wear on the belt itself.