pulley

[scott19]

im manufacturing a pulley for a four belt drive just wonder what the best way to go about this is using a manual lathe. roungh out v and finish wid a ground tool to the correct size. any ideas would be greatful!!

 

[MiketheEngineer]

Buy one !! Much easier and probably cheaper....

Don't forget that the "V" must be matched to the belts being used... or vice versa

 

[SincoTC]

Does the pulley have four drive belts, all the same size to give enough torque capability, or is it a step pulley with one belt to give a range of speeds? The step pulley is easier to find off the shelf, although you'll probably have to modify the bore/Keyway to suit your shaft. Also try searching for Vee Belt Sheaves.

If you can't get what you want in one piece, you could stack individual pulleys and bolt them together.

To machine them from the solid, you'll need a fair sized lathe with a rigid set-up or chatter will be a big problem (especially with a plunged form tool where you may even have to resort to hand pulling the pulley round to clean out chatter as a last resort)

Machinery's Handbook show drawings for the groove profiles in the popular belt sections.

I found this online a few years age when I had to make a special, but I cheated and used a CNC lathe to avoid the form tool problem:

http://www.omtr.pub.ro/t_cicone/machdesign/handbook2_v-belt.pdf

Trevor Clarke. (R & D) Scientific Instruments.Somerset. UK

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[eromlignod]

If you're only doing one, I'd just single-point the whole profile. Unless you're going to do a lot of them, I don't think it's worth grinding a special tool.

Don
Kansas City

 

[ScottyUK]

Mike nailed it - just buy one from Fenner or Gates or a cheaper equivalent from one of countless suppliers. 4-belt pulleys are common enough from about 4" diameter up to a couple of feet diameter. I just bought a replacement 6" Taperlock 4-belt type for my lathe: cost was about £30 for a non-Fenner part. Hardly worth the effort of machining it yourself unless you are doing it for pleasure.


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