V-Belt Length Calculator

The V-belt was developed in 1917 by John Gates of the Gates Rubber Company. It's called a V-belt because of its V shaped cross-section.

V-belts (also known as Vee belt or wedge rope) are an early solution that solved the slippage and alignment problem. V-belt is the rubber belt that drives things such as the alternator, air conditioning compressor, power steering pump and waterpump.

The V shape of the belt tracks in a mating groove in the pulley (or sheave), so that the belt cannot slip off. The belt also tends to wedge into the groove as the load increases - the greater the load, the greater the wedging action - improving torque transmission and making the vee belt an effective solution. They can be supplied at various fixed lengths or as a segmented section, where the segments are linked (spliced) to form a belt of the required length.

For high-power requirements, two or more v-belts can be joined side-by-side in an arrangement called a multi-V, running on matching multi-groove sheaves. The strength of these belts is obtained by reinforcements with fibers like steel, polyester or aramid (e.g. Twaron).