Physical drawbacks of linear high-speed tooth belt drives

Production rate plays an important role in industrial applications, which means higher demands for accelerations and speeds of the systems. The requirements for accuracy and repeatability are also increasing. A solution for these demands is a high-speed tooth belt linear drive; however, the drawbacks of system of this kind are non-linear friction and flexibility of the belt, which make the precision control of the system difficult. In this paper, the frictions and flexibility of the high-speed tooth belt linear drive are analyzed.