A TRI-Flex belt is constructed from 3 components. Alternating spirals take care of the belt overlay. These spirals are connected to each other by means of smooth cross rods. Special chain links are mounted at the outer sides, which are locked by means of button heads.

TRI-Flex belts are considered to be used as belts for spiral systems. Especially in the food industry, freezing and cooling towers, in which metal belts are active, are common installations.

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General details for Tri-flex belts:

  • – Longitunal pitch: 19,05 mm until 38,1 mm
  • – “Turn ratio”: min 1,1 – max 2,5
  • – Cross rod wire: 4,9 / 6,0 mm
  • – Spiral wire: none / 1,2 / 1,4 / 1,6 mm in soft or spring steel wire
  • – Lateral pitch of the spirals: 3,0 – 25,4 mm
  • – Materials: 1.4301 i.c.w. 1.4310 / 1.4404 i.c.w. 1.4401
  • – Heightened side guards are a possibility
  • – The chains are provided of small ’round dents’ which enables the cross rods to have a larger contact surface with the chains
  • – The ends of the spirals are provided with oval eyes, so called “pig tails”. This ensures that the spirals always remain their position and that there is no chance of protruded wire ends

Specific details for spiral system belts (Lotension):

  • – Spiral systems are complex installations. It is recommended to consult our engineering department in an early stage to ensure a good functional combination of belt and installation
  • – Temperature range for known applications: -50 °C up to approximately 100 °C (Cooker)
  • – Range of the width of the belt: 270 mm up and until 1400 mm

Specific details for linear system belts:

  • – Temperature range (theoretically): cryogenic up to approximately 400 °C
  • – Range of the width of the belt: 270 mm up and until 2000 mm

Specific properties for spiral system belts (Lotension):

  • – Spiral systems are complex installations. It is recommended to consult our engineering department in an early stage to ensure a good functional combination of belt and installation
  • – Drive on the basis of the combination of sprockets wheels and friction on the drum
  • – Drum should rotate faster than the traction of sprockets wheels (overdrive)
  • – Steady finishing of the welded buttond heads at the belt edges and therefore optimal contact surface with the drum
  • – Supporting of the belt: radius shaped strips (mostly PE-1000) under belt overlay. Point of attention is the take over of succeeding strips in run direction of the belt. The next strip should never be at a higher elevation level than the previous. At the drum side the strips should be positioned as close to the belt chain side as possible, keeping mind that the oval pig tails of the belt should remain free of contact. At the other side of the belt some more space between belt chain edge and supporting is acceptable. In general, an even distribution of the strips w.r.t. the belt width should be guaranteed. For larger widths and/or higer loads it is therefore recommendable to take more than 2 strips.
  • – To maximize the life span of the belt for spiral systems, the belt can be ‘flipped-over’’ which causes the inside to become the outside and vice versa.
  • – When a new installation has been designed, we advise you to leave the calculations of the strength-technical part of the belt up to us
  • – Tribelt has the possibility to measure the actual tension of a belt, even when the installation is working. The so called data-logger goes, for one round, along in the installation, to subsequently process the data. Our engineer interpreters this data and will provide you of appropriate advice.

General properties for Tri-flex belts:

  • – Belt support by using it as straight run belt: fishbone structure (mostly PE-1000)
  • – Belts are normally twined by means of alternated left and right spirals, when the pitch is smaller than 4,25 mm solely left or right spirals are used
  • – Large passing range from very closed to very open
  • – Tools are inflexible; not every combination of longitunal pitch/mesh/ eye link wire /cross rod wire is possible.

The TRI-flex belts are mostly applied in installations whereby food products are gradually cooled or warmed. Hereby, you can think of processes as cooling, freezing, pasteurizing, smoking and cooking. As already mentioned before, these belts are considerably used in a spiral shaped tower installation. It is however, also possible to put the TRI-Flex belt in a straight lined installation. It then concerns mostly an installation for the ‘’shock-freezing’’ of food products, for example by using the liquid nitrogen which immediately evaporates.

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