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@ Belt Flex Tester

The belt flex tester is designed to flex shoe soles in a way similar to flexing during use to test for cracking. The tester consists of two rollers - a larger driving roller and smaller flexing roller. Test specimens are attached to a belt that moves around the rollers, flexing the specimens. Tests of up to 50,000 flexes are conducted to examine for cracking and provide a guide to cracking risks during use. The tester has adjustable rollers and settings to test different sole flexibilities in a standardized manner.

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prolific Engneers
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43 views2 pages

@ Belt Flex Tester

The belt flex tester is designed to flex shoe soles in a way similar to flexing during use to test for cracking. The tester consists of two rollers - a larger driving roller and smaller flexing roller. Test specimens are attached to a belt that moves around the rollers, flexing the specimens. Tests of up to 50,000 flexes are conducted to examine for cracking and provide a guide to cracking risks during use. The tester has adjustable rollers and settings to test different sole flexibilities in a standardized manner.

Uploaded by

prolific Engneers
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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BELT FLEX TESTER

Out-soles of footwear or other flexing components may suffer cracking due to flexing
in use. Cracks usually develop at points of high surface strain resulting from the
design of the sole pattern, without there being any cuts due to grit etc. to initiate
them.
The belt flex tester is designed to flex complete soles with their patterns intact in a
way similar to flexing in actual use. Tests carried out using it provide a guide to the
risk of such cracks developing during use.
In this test, test specimens are attached to the outside of a continuous belt, which is
driven round two rollers. The larger roller drives the belt, while movement of the belt
round the smaller roller provides the main flexing action. The radius of the smaller
roller is chosen to make the flexing either more severe or less severe than in actual
use.
This form of flexing also copies the wear conditions at each step as it produces a
short period of rapid flexing followed by a longer period when the specimen is not
being flexed. A normal test consists of a number of flexing runs up to a total of
50,000 flexes, with an examination for cracking at the end of each run.
The PROLIFIC Belt Flex Tester consists of two rollers on which a flat belt
moves. The larger roller, which is the driving roller, rotates at a desired speed with
the help of an electric motor and V-belt arrangement, to give the specified frequency
of flexing. The second roller, which is the flexing roller, rotates with the movement of
the belt.

The flexing rollers are slightly barreled shaped so as to minimize sideways


movement of the belt. The equipment is supplied with three flexing rollers, one for
normal soles, the second for very flexible soles, and the third for very hard soles.

Footwear \ TS \ * Belt Flex Tester October 20, 2010 1/2


The distance between the driving and flexing rollers can be adjusted with the help of
an arrangement driven by a hand wheel, to enable the belt to be mounted over
different flexing rollers and to allow for small differences in belt length.
The tester is provided with an acrylic front cover and a sheet metal safety guard,
which allows adequate natural circulation of cooling air round the test specimens
during the test. A micro switch is also provided, which disable the movement of
motor, when the acrylic cover is open.
A six-digit pre-set type electronic counter with memory back-up and key-operated
re-set switch and an inductive sensor are provided to record the total numbers of
cycles completed by the belt and thus the number of flexes undergone by the test
specimens mounted on it. The motor stops automatically on completion of the set
number of flexes.
The apparatus is finished in stoving enamel painting and bright chrome / zinc plating
to give it a corrosion resistant finish.

TECHNICAL DATA
Dimensions of driving roller : 225 ± 5 mm diameter, 170 ± 20 mm length
Dimensions of flexing roller
for normal soles : 90.0 ± 0.5 mm diameter at centre
87 ± 1.0 mm diameter at ends
170 ± 20 mm length
for very flexible soles : 60.0 ± 0.5 mm diameter at centre
57 ± 1.0 mm diameter at ends
170 ± 20 mm length
for very hard soles : 120.0 ± 0.5 mm diameter at centre
117 ± 1.0 mm diameter at ends
170 ± 20 mm length
Number of flex per minute : 90 ± 8 flexes/minute
Motor : ¼ HP, single-phase, 230 volts AC
Counter : Six-digit pre-set type electronic counter with
memory back-up, inductive sensor,
and key-operated re-set switch

RELATED STANDARD
SATRA PM 133 – 1993 : Resistance to Crack Initiation and Growth
- Belt Flex Method

Footwear \ TS \ * Belt Flex Tester October 20, 2010 2/2

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