Method of making positive drive conveyor belt

Abstract

A manufacturing process converts a standard flat belt conveyor belt into a new, positively driven, pitch differential belt. A strip of thermoplastic material having a physical characteristic, such as melting temperature, that differs from the physical characteristic of the thermoplastic material comprising the conveyor belt, is applied to the drive side of a commercially available conveyor belt and machined to create a plurality of teeth, or drive bars, of any desired geometry that is configured to engage with the with sprockets or drums of the drive mechanism on the conveyor. The strip and/or drive bars can also be made by additive manufacturing, such as by 3D printing. Two ends of the resulting belt segment are cut to length and spliced, preferably with finger joints, to make a continuous loop using an industry standard hot-plate vulcanizer with a custom fitting called an alignment mold. The melting temperature of the belt and the strip/teeth are chosen to be far enough apart so that the belt may be spliced without melting the teeth. The alignment mold is a silicon pad that has recesses shaped to conform to the geometry/pitch of teeth so that the teeth retain their integrity and shape during the splicing process.