According to Gates®, roller chains are a thing of the past.  As a leading manufacturer of drive belt solutions – and the inventor of the original V-belt – Gates® has a history of innovation, and the Poly Chain® GT™ Carbon™ synchronous belt is an example of innovation at its finest, improving the safety, efficiency and longevity of power transmission in food and beverage applications. 

The Poly Chain® GT™ Carbon™ is a polyurethane synchronous belt that uses carbon fibre tensile cords to provide an increased power carrying capacity and extended flex fatigue life, helping it withstand shocks, surge loading and heavy abrasion. It is suitable for high moisture environments or where oils and chemicals are used in applications such as those common to food and beverage wash downs.

Importantly, the Poly Chain® GT™ Carbon™ is a much safer option than traditional roller chains – first and foremost because it requires zero maintenance. Poly Chain® GT™ Carbon™ belts do not need any stretching, re-tensioning or lubrication. This means they take people out of dangerous situations where they can get pinched or crushed by performing maintenance on a heavy chain. 

Poly Chain® GT™ Carbon™ belts are also lightweight – in fact, 97% lighter than roller chains, so they are easy to lift, move and carry. This means installation and replacement are much easier and there is less body stress on employees. 

Since no lubrication – such as oil baths – is required, there is less risk of fire or tripping injuries from slippery floors. Also, the belts are far quieter than chains, making the operating environment a much more pleasant place to work without the noise pollution of heavy chains. 

From the perspective of a food and beverage operation, Poly Chain® GT™ Carbon™ belts are a perfect fit as they are designed to work in wet environments and are inert to most acids and chemicals. As food handling and processing requires constant washdowns, roller chains require regular lubrication when the oil gets washed off and are also prone to rust.  Conversely, Poly Chain® GT™ Carbon™ belts do not rust, and are completely safe for food processing facilities. As they do not need any lubrication, the risk of an oil leak causing food, or ground or water contamination is also eliminated. 

In terms of performance and efficiency, the Poly Chain GT™ Carbon belt offers three times the service life of a roller chain and 10 times that of sprocket life, providing an overall improvement of efficiency of 99% when it comes to the life of the drive. 

Once the Poly Chain® GT™ Carbon™ is installed, it doesn’t require any maintenance, so it reduces downtime in an operation, particularly when compared with changing out a roller chain and its complementing sprockets. As Poly Chain® GT™ Carbon™ does not create any metal-on-metal wear, the replacement of sprockets is drastically reduced.

With extended lengths of up to 20,000mm – longer than any other manufacturer provides – the Poly Chain® GT™ Carbon™ can handle longer centre distances. The Poly Chain® GT™ Carbon™ extended length (19 metres) is suited to replacing larger roller chains and gears.

As a key partner of Motion Australia, Gates® distributes its power transmission products – including the Poly Chain® GT™ Carbon™ synchronous belts – through Motion Australia’s branches nation-wide. The two companies work closely to support the Australian food and beverage sector with their technical expertise and solutions-driven know-how.    

Summary of Poly Chain® GT™ Carbon™ benefits:

• 400% greater capacity than HTD belts

• 99% efficiency for life of the drive

• Outlasts roller chain up to 4 to 1

• Outlasts roller chain sprockets 10 to 1

• Cuts maintenance and downtime

• No stretch

• No lubrication

• No re-tensioning

• Inert to most acids, chemicals and water

• Width-for-width roller chain conversions

• Reduce weight and overhung loads

• Over 120,000 possible drive combinations

• Inside and backside idlers can be used