SmartBelt

Increasing the life cycles of wear parts in machines and vehicles can make a significant contribution to sustainability due to the high quantities involved. For example, Continental manufactures power transmission belts based on EPDM (ethylene propylene diene rubber) as essential components for the functionality of many machines. They are exposed to high forces during operation, resulting in signs of wear.

In cooperation with Continental, a demonstrator solution for the autonomous recording of wear-relevant data (elongation) in power transmission belts during operation and a new type of test stand for evaluating the application were therefore developed as part of the ‘SmartBelt’ project. This included the development and interconnection of relevant components (sensors, microchip on flexible circuit board, battery, wireless data transmission), the mechanically stable integration on the power transmission belt and the development of a suitable interface and software for evaluation. The functionality of the demonstrator was successfully demonstrated on the developed test stand.

The primary project objective - the design, manufacture and demonstration of the multi-sensor platform - was thus successfully realised. In addition to the originally planned project objectives, a new type of test platform for power transmission belts was also developed and successfully put into operation.

As a continuation of the demonstrator project, the LZN is also currently funding the Smart Belt 4.0 scaling project. The aim of the successor is to integrate and evaluate the self-sufficient multi-sensor platform developed in the demonstrator project to optimise sustainability in the life cycle of power transmission belts.