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15/03/2004
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Mis-aligned belt drives wear faster, consume more energy, cause noise and vibration and reduce bearing life
 Problem: . The main causes are pulleys improperly located or mounted on shafts, and non-parallel motor shafts and driven machine shafts. The usual method of alignment is to put a straight edge up against the pulleys. This usually requires two people, and tends to give uncertain results. As a general rule for 'V' belts, we are told that deviation on pulley alignment should not exceed 5mm per 500mm pulley centre to centre distance. In some cases, the limit is 2.5mm per 500mm.
Solution: Gates is offering a simple laser alignment tool.
The Laser AT-1 attaches to one pulley, working with two targets that are attached to the two extremities of the other pulley. All have magnetic mounts, but are light enough to attach to non magnetic pulleys with doubled sided adhesive tape. The laser projects a line onto the targets. When the line lies in the target slots, all pulleys are aligned correctly.
Applications: The device works with pulley diameters of 60mm or greater. Beam angle is 78 degrees and measurement distance, 10m. Weight is 250g, and the 635 to 670nm laser produces less than 1mW power, giving it a class 2 rating. (Class 2 lasers are only dangerous if you stare into the beam) The device is powered by a single AA battery and battery life is 8 hours continuous use. Offset calibration accuracy is less than 0.5mm and angle calibration accuracy less than 0.1 deg.
In the view of the now extremely low cost of small solid state, made in the Far East, lasers, it should be possible to devise laser alignment tools for almost any task. TS
Gates Rubber Company Europe
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Author
Tom Shelley
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