Mechanism Design and Mechanism Dynamics > Mechanism Design > Creating Mechanism Models > Modeling Entities > Belts and Pulleys > About Belts and Pulleys
  
About Belts and Pulleys
A pulley is a wheel with a groove around its circumference. In a belt and pulley system, a cable or a belt runs along this groove and connects one pulley to the next. Use a pulley and belt system to transmit rotational motion, or, if the pulleys are of a different diameter, to increase or decrease the moment along a rotational motion axis.
When you create a belt, you define the original belt length and the belt stiffness constant (). A belt in Mechanism Design is an idealized belt, without inertia properties. The formula used to calculate the forces at the pulleys due to belt tension is: Belt Tension Force = Stiffness X (current belt length – original belt length)/(original belt length). The belt tension force in this calculation is applied at the pulleys connecting the belt. When the belt tension force is calculated to be less than zero, a zero value is assigned.
Click to open the Belt tab and create a belt and pulley system.
A belt and pulley system created in Mechanism Design is an assembly feature with parameters. You can edit a belt and pulley system in both Assembly and Mechanism Design.