HepcoMotion®

SBD Belt Tensioning Procedure

It is important to have a suitable belt tension for the SBD unit. If tension is too low, the belt may jump out of mesh, or could suffer
premature wear. If tension is too high, friction and noise will increase, and belt and bearing wear will be accelerated.

It is normal to remove the upper carriage plate and the metal sealing band before adjusting the belt tension, as this allows the belt
to be seen and its tension felt.

In many cases a suitable belt tension may be set by making a subjective judgement of belt tension, running quality and friction. In
these cases, follow the procedure below but ignoring steps 4-8. Standard metric hexagon keys and spanners are needed but no
special tooling is required.

In other cases where it is important to have a more accurate, measurable and repeatable method, steps 1-10 should be followed.
In these cases the tools shown on page 2 (drive shaft adaptors SBD20-80DSA & SBD30100DSA are available from Hepco) will
also be required, along with a torque wrench and sockets.

The torque values for checking the belt tension shown in the table below are suitable for SBD units with typical operating parameters.
For less demanding applications where smooth running is more important the belt tension can be reduced, for more demanding
applications where smooth running is less important the belt tension can be increased.

Over 1m Over 2m Over 3m

Beam Length Up to 1m Over 4m
up to 2m up to 3m up to 4m
SBD20-80 42Nm 40Nm 40Nm 40Nm 40Nm
SBD30-100 200Nm 175Nm 150Nm 125Nm 110Nm

Belt Pretensioning Procedure

1. Undo the two locking nuts (1) and back off the two
locking screws (2).
2. Using a hexagon key (8) pretension the belt by
turning the large countersunk screw (3) clockwise. 6
Pretensioning of the belt is best done gradually to
ensure that the belt is not over tensioned. Having 8
taken up the slack in the belt the correct pretension
will be achieved after about 1.5 to 2.5 turns on 4
units of 1m and about 3 to 4 turns on units of 4m.
3. Using a hexagon key (9) gradually tighten the
locking screws (2) against the idle yoke, alternating
between screws until fully tight. This ensures that 5
the idle yoke sits square and minimises the chances
of belt tracking.
4. Move the carriage plate (4) to the idle end and
place the spacer block (5) between the inner end
7 1
face of the carriage and the idle end box.
5. Push the carriage plate (4) against the spacer
block (5).
6. Attach the torque wrench (6) & adaptor (7) to the 9
drive shaft.
7. Apply force to the torque wrench (6) to check the
belt pretension. If the pretension is less than the
10
checking value the drive pulley will rotate jumping
a tooth indicating that the belt is too slack.
8. Repeat steps 1 - 7 until correct belt pretension has
been set.
9. Using a hexagon key (9) check the two locking 3 2
screws (2) have been fully tightened against the
idle yoke.
10. Using a hexagon key (9) hold the locking screw
(2) while using a spanner (10) to fully tighten the
locking nut (1). Repeat for both locking screws.
SBD Belt Tensioning Procedure
Drive Shaft Adaptors

SBD20-80DSA
Ø15

5 25
A

9.8
30 A/F

A-A
A

SBD30-100DSA
Ø20
6 36
A

12.8
36 A/F

A A-A

Spacer Block

+1
12 - 2 150 ±5

+1
25 -3

The customer is to make the spacer block as above, if required. It may be made from hardwood, hard plastic or anything stronger.
It is only needed if the full belt tensioning procedure is to be used.

HepcoMotion®, Lower Moor Business Park,

Tiverton Way, Tiverton, Devon, England EX16 6TG
Tel: +44 (0) 1884 257000
Fax: +44 (0) 1884 243500
E-mail: sales@hepcomotion.com

No.6 SBD Belt Tensioning Procedure-01-UK