BELT DRIVE

Synchronous drives represent a modern and efficient system of power transmission. Synchronous Belt Drive

They essentially combine the advantages of mechanical components and flexible components while eliminating the inherent disadvantages of both.
A synchronous belt drive system is currently the most commonly used technology for high-end industrial sewing machine drives.

The timing belt in an car engine is a synchronous belt drive system. The positive nature of these rugged and versatile belt drives makes them capable of transmitting large torques and withstanding large accelerations.

Synchronous belts rely on tooth grip and do not slip and retain an energy efficiency of around 98 percent.

This makes them perfect for maintaining a constant speed ratio and achieving an accurate control of the upper needlebar shaft and lower hook shaft timing over the entire lifetime of your machine, both extremely important in an application like high speed quilting machines.

It means that your APQS longarm will produce beautiful stitches, even at the high speeds and in all directions. It also means that your machine will maintain its sewing timing.

These reasons are probably why every major manufacturer of high end industrial sewing machines uses synchronous belt drives as their technology of choice to transmit power to both shafts.

Exactly How Do They Work?

Belt drives work by engaging two sets of meshing teeth (pictured, right) that do not slip. By eliminating slippage, you maintain precise relative positioning even as you push your quilting machine through constant changes in velocity and direction.

Synchronous belts operate on a basic principal: molded teeth of the belt and mating grooves of the pulley make positive engagement. The teeth enter and leave the pulley in a smooth rolling manner with low friction.

Eliminating Wear, Noise, Friction...

All synchronous belts operate on the positive engagement principle with many superior characteristics. Synchronous belts wrap around the pulley by means of flexion and not by rotation of articulated parts. This eliminates one of the causes of wear and noise.

The synchronous belt drive is not a friction device. It is a positive engagement drive that is dependent upon the meshing of the belt teeth with the pulley grooves.

To maintain the correct tooth pitch as the belt flexes around the pulley, the belt pitch line coincides exactly with the pitch diameter of the grooved pulley.