FIRST Scholarship

In support of the FIRST mission, Gates Corporation is offering one merit-based scholarship, for $4,000 per year for four years, to high school seniors who have participated on a 2014 FIRST Robotics Competition Team. This scholarship may be utilized for an Engineering course of study at any United States college or university that holds accredited status.

• Three (3) finalists will be chosen from essay entries. Phone interview with the finalists will determine the ultimate scholarship winner.
• Essays must be received by Gates by end of day April 30, 2014.
• Finalists to be selected by May 31, 2014.

Eligibility

To be eligible for this scholarship, you must:

• Be a senior in high school for the 2013-2014 school year
• Have participated on a team during the 2013 FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC)
• Provide evidence that your 2014 FRC team used a Gates belt on its competition robot
• Provide proof of enrollment every year for renewal

Submission of Scholarship Application Package

Your complete 2014 Gates FIRST Scholarship application package must be submitted online, no later than April 30, 2014, 11:59 p.m. MST. Scholarship application packages submitted after the deadline will not be considered. 

Application package includes:

• A completed Gates FIRST Scholarship Online Application
• A one page or shorter answer to the Gates 2014 Challenge Question, uploaded as a Word doc, PDF or image file. The 2014 Challenge Question will be posted on this website (www.gates.com/FIRST).
• A one page or shorter letter of recommendation from an adult mentor/coach on your FIRST team, confirming the use of a belt drive on the competition robot and your participation in the 2014 FRC season, uploaded as a Word doc, PDF or image file.

Questions? Email Gates at marketing@gates.com

Identifying Replacement Belts For OEM Products

One of the more common inquiries that our Product Application Engineering Group receives is to identify replacement belts for consumer or commercial products.  This may include belts for outdoor recreational products such as snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, or scooters.  Commercial products may include consumer or commercial lawn grooming equipment, rotor tillers, trenchers, brush cutters, edgers, blowers, etc. 

Replacement belt identifications and recommendations are managed by the Gates Automotive Aftermarket group.  Their main webpage is:  http://www.gates.com/index.cfm?location_id=783.  There are three primary sources of information available to identify recommended replacement belts:

 1)  Search for replacement belts by part number or application at:       http://www.gates.com/part_locator/index.cfm?location_id=3002

2)  Download application catalogs at:  http://www.gates.com/catalogs/index.cfm?requesting=automotivecatalog&location_id=5326

3)  Download the unique NaviGates mobile app from:  http://www.gates.com/brochure.cfm?brochure=12108&location_id=5327

These tools are readily available at your fingertips, and are some of the most powerful in the industry.  Identifying replacement belts using these tools is usually quicker than calling in for assistance.

It is useful to understand that Gates recommended replacement belts should not be assumed to be exact OEM originals.  Gates work with OEM customers is maintained as confidential, so replacement belt recommendations are generally based on dimensional equivalent belts in standard constructions.  Obtaining replacements from OEM manufacturers is recommended if identical belt performance is desired.

For additional information, feel free to contact Gates Product Application Engineering at 303-744-5800 or ptpasupport@gates.com.

507C Attachment Selection

When a new 507C Sonic Tension Meter is purchased it will come with the standard, cord type microphone.  However, did you know that Gates offers two additional attachments that may be more suited for your particular drive system?  If the standard Cord Microphone is working yet has proved to be cumbersome due to the two hand operation, then the optional Flat Flexible Sensor would be a great addition to your PM toolkit. The Flat Flexible Sensor allows for simple, one handed use of the 507C which enables a single person to easily and accurately measure the tension in a belt drive system.  

If the standard cord microphone is not currently working due to excessive ambient noise, high winds, or extremely low belt span frequencies, then the optional Inductive Sensor would be the attachment you would want to use.  As opposed to the Microphone on both the Cord and Flexible Sensors which work on sound waves, the Inductive Sensor utilizes magnets attached to the belt to measure the span frequency wand therefore is not affected by wind or noise.  

The part numbers for these additional attachements are:

• Flat Flexible Sensor: 7420-0205
• Inductive Sensor: 7420-0212

For any additional questions on these attachments or any other inquiry, feel free to contact us at ptpasupport@gates.com or 303-744-5800.

FIRST Robotics 2014

The 2014 season of the FIRST Robotics Competition is in full swing. Don't forget to visit www.Gates.com/FIRST to order free parts and view our helpful resources.

Good luck!

Pulley Face Width Offset With The EZ Align Tool

The EZ Align belt drive alignment tool is easy to use and provides accurate and effective results.  While mounting and set up is generally straight forward, it may be necessary at times to offset the reflector or transmitter to compensate for differing sprocket/sheave face widths.  An example of this is aligning synchronous belt drive systems with a flanged driver sprocket and an unflanged driven sprocket.  The face width of unflanged sprockets is greater than flanged sprockets, so spacing the reflector outward from the motor sprocket is necessary to place the center target line in the appropriate location.  This way the narrower driver sprocket can be appropriately centered with respect to the wider driven sprocket.

An offset kit containing 1/2" and 3/4” thick offset brackets is available as an optional accessory.  These brackets attach to EZ Align reflectors or transmitters via. magnetic attraction.  The amount of offset, however, may be greater than necessary.

For finer offset adjustments, thin rare earth disk type magnets can be very useful.  Disk magnets can be placed directly onto the EZ Align magnets for incremental offsetting while maintaining similar mounting strength.  For more correction, simply add additional disk magnets.

Amazing Magnets is a convenient source for powerful rare earth magnets like this.  Some standard sizes to consider are 1/2” dia. x 3/32 thick” (D094D), 1/2” dia. x 1/8” thick (D125D) and 1/2” dia. x 3/16” thick (D188D).  To order or for further information about these magnets, contact Amazing Magnets at 888-727-327 or https://www.amazingmagnets.com.

For questions, feel free to contact Gates Product Application Engineering at 303-744-5800 or ptpasupport@gates.com.

Still need holiday gift ideas? How about one from Gates!

Are you still looking for those last minute holiday gift ideas?  Here is a great one.  REI has recently started selling a bike from their Novara line called the Arkham.  This belt drive beauty won't fit in your stocking, but would look just right underneath the Christmas tree.  Equipped with a Gates Carbon Drive belt, and a SRAM 3 speed hub, this thing would make anyone a happy commuter.  Check it out here:

http://www.rei.com/product/857591/novara-arkham-bike-2014

BladeRunner Belts

A lot of people call us looking for specialty length BladeRunner Belts.  Unfortunately this is not usually an option.  BladeRunner are OEM specific belts, and usually made to special lengths, or even special constructions that cannot be replaced with other off the shelf belt lines.  This is also why the part number is not a description of the belt's dimensions.  The best potential option for replacement of non-standard size BladeRunner belts are our PoweRated line of belts.  However, these belts are typically only offered in inch increments, and not in as long of options as some of the BladeRunner series.  Knowing this issue may help if you are trying to redesign any part of your lawn and garden, or low power requirement equipment.