Belt-drives now easier and quicker to design with new-look Design Power™ software

Gates (NYSE: GTES), a leading global provider of application-specific fluid power and power transmission solutions, has simplified the design and specification of belt-drive systems with its Design Power™ platform. The platform comprises two applications – Design Flex Pro™ and Design IQ™ – which have been updated and upgraded to offer engineers, OEMs, and customers a quicker, more accurate, and easier means of designing belt-drive systems.

In addition, the scope and scale of Design Power’s capabilities have been widened to afford users a more collaborative and dynamic approach to producing real-world designs and specifications. These include a state-of-the-art knowledge base with design guidance and the most sophisticated and current belt-performance models, that link automatically with the new organisational features also allow holding multiple designs in a single project file, tracking design derivatives and iterations, and recording who made changes in the process.

For industrial synchronous or V-belt systems, the Design Flex Pro module enables engineers to determine every potential belt-drive solution for a set of specific parameters, improving the efficiency and accuracy of the design process. The final design specifications can then be printed off, emailed, or turned into a PDF with the automatic translation facility helping to service global markets.

Additional features of Design Flex Pro include the ability to determine the correct belt installation tension, to calculate belt pull and the belt power transmission capacity. Usefully the software is also able to estimate the energy savings of a synchronous-belt drive compared to a V-belt drive and the cost savings of replacing a roller chain with a Poly Chain GT belt drive. For more complex serpentine and multi-point belt drives, the Design IQ module offers a versatile and intuitive way of designing standard and non-standard lengths and pulley sizes with customised sprockets and conditions. Users simply identify a specific Gates product, enter the drive specifications and the software will generate the belt tension, shaft load, and belt length automatically.

Design IQ can also determine the recommended installation tension, offer drive geometry output, point out the major causes of flex-fatigue and calculate belt widths or number of strands.