Hi,
This summer I was building my first CNC ROUTER,
and I got confronted to the following issue:

I only have ONE stepper motor for X axis.
But X axis is driven on both sides by a threaded rod and a nut.

the need was : fast transmission, medium torque, and relative position kept.

I first thought about TIMING BELT.

Problem is, I got a low budget and most of all, it would not match exactly the size of my router.

So I came up with the idea of doing a belt myself.

Step 1: First Attempt : Mesuring Tape Belt

Remember it needs to transmit exact position from a rod to an other.

So I need something inextensible and flexible.

What about a belt made out of a measuring tape?

It worked, it was custom to my router.

BUT it broke at the junction, and it was offering too much resistance to the movement, so the router couldn't go quite fast.

I thought: "It's not a good belt then, let's find something else."

(the only thing I regret is the nice look of the belt with all figures around it !)

Step 2: Second Attempt : Adhesive Tape

After the measuring tape broke several times, I was quite disappointed.

      I wondered what could fit the exact dimensions of my router, being very flexible and inextensible.

      A week passed without finding something appropriate when I found a idea by chance:

    --> I was packing some stuff, securing it with a very basic tape (I got ten rolls of it for 1 Euro).
The kind of transparent tape inappropriate for office use which is impossible to cut neatly by hand ( like "scotch tape" does ).

It was a pain packing with it, and I thought "wow, that's what I need!!"

Flexible and strong, here is The Tape Transmission Belt

For this Instructable I used an opaque tape because transparent tape isn't visible enough on photos, but my actual belt is below!

Step 3: Parts.

As you can imagine, it's quite simple.

All you need is:

- Tape. (basic and strong tape)

- Wheels.

Step 4: Gathering Wheels.

As the belt will be tape, we need wheels with some grip, so the belt won't slip.

I found what I think is the best king of wheel : PRINTER WHEELS.

In fact those wheels has to have a good grip on paper, so it's fantastic on plastic!!

Printer wheels are usually composed in the same way:

- a core in hard material.
- a surrounding in rubber like material.

Step 5: Making the Belt : (A) First Turn

Now we have the wheels set up, we can make our CUSTOM power transmission belt!

It's about making several turns around the belt path with the tape to create the belt.

THE FIRST TURN

Just follow the detailed pictures below!

Step 6: Making the Belt : (B) Second Turn

Now, we have a belt, but it's only one turn belt and might not be strong enough.

So we make some extra turns, from one to how many you want, depending on your tape strength.

when you have done the second turn you can go to (C) the last turn, ore make some extra turns before.

Step 7: Making the Belt : (C) Last Turn

From now, the belt is functional, but is still sticky one one of its side.

we'll do the same as before but sticky face against stick face.

Step 8: See How It Works

We have done a perfectly fit belt, let's see it in action

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEvzMcFo0TM

ok this turns well, but does ever the belt go off track?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAosr3GlG8M

Step 9: Conclusion

Finally, It turns out that this belt has powered my cnc-router for months and is still fit today.

funny thing is that the cheapest solution works the best.
I got no problems with it, and always perfect results!

I evaluated the cost of a belt:
IT COSTS LESS THAN 0.5 CENT OF EURO!!!!!

So compared to a timing belt it clearly worth it!!!

I Hope You'll find your way to use this Free Belt for your Projects!!!

Thanks for reading!

Introduction: Adhesive Tape Flat Belt