Typically, belts come as rolls, allowing you to customize, cut, and fit them perfectly to your conveyor system with no supply shortages. They also leave you with leftover materials to use in the future, and for replacements. Fasteners connect one end of the belt to the other, creating the looped belt you need for the pulley system to work. As their name suggests, fasteners fasten two ends together. The type of fastener you choose affects various factors of your belt’s operations, ranging from potential belt damages to proper fitting on the tracks. Let’s look at the type of conveyor belt fastener you need for your equipment.
Solid Plate
Solid plate bolt fasteners are small plates of metal bolted in a row along the seams of two belt ends. Not only do they connect one end of the belt with another, but they also secure sift-free foam splices. They also require larger minimum pulley diameters than other fasteners, but provide a durable, easy-to-install, and common type of fastening. Solid plate fasteners work well with belting systems carrying sand, gravel, crushed stone, cement, and other materials requiring a sift-free splice. Once they’re on, they stay on, making them a better fit for belting systems that do not require frequent disassembling.
Hinged Fasteners
Hinged fasteners create flexible joints between the two belt ends. They work best with small, tight pulley systems, as their hinges easily fold over taught edges without changing the belt’s tension or fit. Hinge fasteners also work well with incline and decline tracking systems because the hinges bend over steep inclines. They also adjust when reaching the plateau at the bottom of declines. Their design allows you to disassemble and reattach other belts together with very little effort.
Clipper Wire Hook
Clipper wire fasteners offer one of the cheapest and easiest-to-install fastener options. These wire hooks work similarly to staples and binder rings. Each end of the fastener’s hooks fits inside the holes of the belt seams. They clip onto both sides of the opposite belt, looping the two belt ends together. Like hinged fasteners, they provide flexibility to the belt joints. Note that they provide the most benefits to wide belts compatible with lacing similar materials.
Alligator Lacing
Alligator lacing fasteners work similarly to clipper wire hooks, but they provide more structure, less bend flexibility, and a zipper-like fitting. Unlike the other fasteners, they come as one piece that runs along the edge of the belt ends instead of tiny, separate attachments. Installing alligator lacing takes very little effort. The process requires a hammer, and can be done by hand. Alligator lacing works with various belt widths and provides uniform tensioning.
Various factors affect the type of conveyor belt fastener you need. Whether you use PVC belts or any other type of belt material keep in mind the size, purpose, and track system used in your conveyor to determine the best fit fastener for the job.