CONVEYING
From Leather to Intelligent Solutions The technology company Continental has played a key role in shaping the history of drive belts and, in turn, the development of the industry. Registration under the brand name Continental – including for drive belts – dates back to 1899.
A
nd it all began with a simple V-belt. The company has since developed and produced belts that deliver the necessary drive in almost every industry worldwide, from motorcycles to automotive and mechanical engineering, from agricultural machinery to elevators. Whether small, large, with teeth, ribs or bumps, open-ended or continuous, the products and technologies have always set trends and opened up new opportunities for the market – and will continue to do so into the future. Continental is constantly enhancing and refining its materials, products and production processes. “Our engineers are currently working on an intelligent drive belt featuring built-in sensors. Digitalization and networking are heralding the next era of drive belt technology,” says Claudia Holtkemper, head
of the Drive Belts business unit at Continental.
Quantum leaps in technology Let’s go back to the beginning. One hundred and fifty years ago, almost every factory had some kind of steam engine for powering weaving looms and spinning wheels. Energy was transferred by belts made from tough leather – a method that, at the time, was akin to an industrial revolution. But just a few years later at the dawn of the 20th century, Continental produced a V-belt made from a rubber compound with a connection lock. This set new technical standards for the transmission of rotary movements. Its predecessor, the flat belt, could transmit only about one third of the force with the same width. This represented a quantum leap in drive belt development, one that would be repeated in similar forms many times over. The demands placed on belts have grown continuously. They have to transfer more and more power, be as compact, robust and lightweight as possible, designed for use across all industries and, of course, they also have to work efficiently.
The Synchrochain Carbon drives the HyperPodX, which was created by students of the cooperative Engineering Physics course at the Emden/Leer University of Applied Sciences and the University of Oldenburg
22
BULK HANDLING TODAY
Jan/Feb 2020
