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The proven conveyor belt technology

Flat-Flex® belts have over 85 years of trusted performance in the industry. With up to 86% open surface area, Flat-Flex® belts promote maximum flow through and are the proven solution for major processors. Flat-Flex® USDA approved design and clean in place capability make it even easier to keep your line hygienic, and with many wire diameters and pitches to choose from, you’ll be able to find the right belt for your product.

  • Transport
  • Cooking
  • Heating
  • Drying
  • Cooling
  • Coating
  • Drainage
  • Freezing
  • Enrobing
  • Frying
  • Baking
  • Dough Rolling
  • Battering
  • Breading
  • Shrink Wrapping
  • Sterilisation
  • Soldering
  • Architectural Mesh
  • Shuttling
  • Turning
  • Side Shifting
  • Collating
  • Crumbing
  • Searing
  • Glazing
  • Preparation
  • Sieving

The unique features of Flat-Flex® conveyor belts offer numerous benefits that increase productivity, help contain costs and improve your overall product quality, including:

  • Large open area – up to 86%
  • Small transfers
  • Non-slip positive drive
  • Very low belt mass for improved operating efficiency
  • Accurate tracking
  • Hygienic design, Easy to clean, clean-in-place capability
  • USDA accepted
  • C-CureEdge™ available on a range of selected specifications

Whatever your needs, Wire Belt Company’s Technical Sales Engineers will work with you to determine the best Flat-Flex® belt configuration to accommodate your product, process, application and maintenance requirements.

If you require a unique belt or conveyor to deliver the best conveyor performance, we will not hesitate to design and deliver a totally customised solution for your application.  Our aim is your complete satisfaction with the performance of our products.  We are confident we can provide the right belt, sprockets and other components you need.

Standard Belt Data

Flat-Flex® is available in a wide range of wire diameters & pitches. The following table gives a broad indication of availability:

Wire Dia. Range Pitch Range
0.9mm – 1.27mm 4.0mm – 12.7mm
1.4mm – 1.6mm 5.5mm – 15.0mm
1.8mm – 2.8mm 8.0mm – 20.32mm
3.4mm – 4.0mm 19.05mm – 25.0mm

Note:  Due to pitch to wire dia. combination ratios not all pitches are available in the corresponding wire diameters stated.

The below data is an extract from our full range of Flat-Flex® belting.

Pitch and Wire Diameter (mm) Average weight (kg/m²) Max belt tension per space (N) Minimum transfer roller outside diameter (mm) Minimum recommended reverse bend diameter (mm)* Typical open area (%) Edge Availability
Single Loop Edge (SLE) Double Loop Edge (DLE) C-Cure Edge (SLE CC)
4.24 x 0.90 1.3 13.4 12 43 77
4.30 x 1.27 2.6 44.5 12 43 67
5.5 x 1.0 1.35 19.6 12 55 79
5.5 x 1.27 2.2 44.5 12 55 73
5.6 x 1.0 1.33 19.6 12 56 79.5
5.64 x 0.90 1.0 13.4 12 57 82
6.0 x 1.27 1.9 44.5 16 60 76
6.35 x 1.27 2.0 44.5 16 64 77
6.40 x 1.40 2.7 55 20 64 76
7.26 x 1.27 1.6 44.5 16 73 80
7.26 x 1.60 2.5 66.7 19 73 75
9.60 x 2.08 3.5 97.8 25 96 75
12.0 x 1.83 2.3 80.0 29 120 81
12.7 x 1.83 2.2 80.0 29 127 82
12.7 x 2.35 3.6 133.4 38 127 78
12.7 x 2.8 5.1 191.3 38 127 72
20.32 x 2.35 2.6 133.4 38 203 85

Wire Belt Company produces in excess of 100 pitch & wire diameter specifications.  If you do not locate your specification in the table above then please consult with Customer Services.

Available in widths ranging from 28mm to 4,500mm

*Check with our Technical Sales Engineers if the belt requires a smaller reverse bend diameter.

Materials available;

Flat-Flex® belts are available in a wide variety of materials; the standard is 1.4310 (302) stainless steel. Other materials available include: 1.4401 (316) stainless steel, various carbon steels, and specialist materials suitable for high temperature applications.
Flat-Flex® can be supplied with a PTFE-coating for applications requiring a non-stick surface. High friction finishes are also available.

Edge loop types:

C-CureEdge™ Double Loop Edge (DLE) Single Loop Edge (SLE)
Check the reference chart above for edge availability per mesh

C-CureEdge™ Single Loop Edge technology eliminates the possibility of the belt edge catching and tangling. They are an available option for a selected range of Flat-Flex® belts.  See above for availability listing. Click here to view further details.

Double Loop Edges (also referred to as “Gear Wheel Edge”) can also be supplied to suit existing enrober belts.

Single Loop Edges are the most common belt edge finish and are a default standard for 1.27mm wire diameters and above.

Flat-Flex® Drive Components

Sprockets, Blanks & Transfer Rollers

When choosing the most appropriate drive component material for your application, it is important to look at the conditions under which the belt will operate. Conditions such as abrasion, corrosion, high/low temperature variations, surrounding temperature, type of process performed, etc. all have an impact on selection.

Wire Belt Company offer a comprehensive range of standard sprockets, blanks & transfer rollers and can also manufacture to order drive components for new or replacement applications to suit any specified Flat-Flex® belt.

View our list of standard metric sprockets

View our list of standard imperial sprockets

Please contact Wire Belt Technical Sales Engineers for information of non standard sprockets.

Sprocket Material:

Available material types include:

Type 1.4305 (303) stainless steel – which is highly recommended for all applications, especially in food processing industries as it is FDA approved for direct contact with food.

POM (PolyOxyMethylene) plastic, otherwise known as Acetal – usually preferred for light loads, where the operating temperature range is limited to between -20°C to +80°C, and is also FDA approved for food processing applications.

PEEK (PolyEtherEther-Ketone) a high performance engineering thermoplastic that can operate at high temperatures and is less abrasive on your stainless steel belts than metal drive components. PEEK can be used continuously to 250°C and in hot water or steam without permanent loss in physical properties.

Flat-Flex Standard Transfer Rollers

Roller Details
Part Number Outside Diameter Bore Material
089001 25.40 13.10 POM
089002 50.80 25.78 PE
089025 25.00 12.00 PE
109025 25.00 12.00 PTFE
089038 38.00 20.38 PE
109038 38.00 20.38 PTFE
089050 50.00 25.25 PE
109050 50.00 25.25 PTFE
089060-25 60.00 25.00 PE
089060-30 60.00 30.00 PE

Scroll to right to download PDF >>
PDF YouTube
Flat-Flex® Product Brochure
Flat-Flex® Support Guide
Flat-Flex® Engineers Guide
Causes and Prevention of Black Residue Build up
Flat-Flex® trouble shooting guide
Flat-Flex® Identification Form
Flat-Flex® Potential Causes of Downtime
Flat-Flex® Sprocket Arrangement
Flat-Flex® Tube Join Instructions
Flat-Flex® full strand Joining single loop edge
Flat-Flex® full strand Joining double loop edge
EZSplice™ Joining Instructions
How to make Flat-Flex® joining clips
Installing Flat-Flex® Joining Clips
Inspection and Installation Check List

Foam Insulation Slab Application

Summary

The company is a manufacturer of foam insulation slabs used for sound dampening near industrial equipment. They were looking to overhaul their production line with Flat-Flex® Conveyor Belting for use with waterjet cutting.

Issue to be resolved

Previous manufacturing methods will have been using a mechanical process, cutting slabs with a more typical sawing process. The company was moving forward with a new, more efficient method of cutting using water jets; however, this process can potentially be damaging to the belt/surface used to transport the product.

Action taken

Flat-Flex® Conveyor Belting was an ideal way forward, due to its open area and wide specification range. The large number of options available for pitch/wire diameter combination allows for the optimal selection for product support, while also allowing the system to effectively drain away water. This open area also benefits the system as it reduces and possibility of the water jet cutting system damaging the belt.

Results

Flat-Flex® Conveyor Belting is used to conveyor the product during and after the cutting process, due to its superior open area and strength to weight ratio, when comparing to typical fabric, polymer or plastic modular conveyor belts.


Chocolate Enrobing Applications

Flat-Flex® belting is widely used in the chocolate manufacturing industry for the chocolate coating (or enrobing) of products for either full or half coat operations. When enrobing, the open design of Flat-Flex® enables the surplus chocolate to pass through the belting to be pumped back through a filter system for re-circulation. The shallow profile of the belt also allows for a bottom coat to be applied to product by the use of a “licking” roller underneath the belt.

Pralines, bars and biscuits requiring a topping of chopped nuts, coconut flakes or rice crispies can be sprinkled after a pre-coater or the main chocolate enrober. Flat-Flex® belting allows the surplus nuts, etc. to drop through the belting to be collected in a hopper situated under the belting and, if required, returned to the sprinkler unit.

Wire Belt Company has manufactured Flat-Flex® belting for a number of customers whose equipment carries products over distances in excess of 35 metres. Some bakery plants have 3.5 metre wide Flat-Flex® belting handling specialist roll products and indeed the company supplies one of the foremost chocolate enrober equipment manufacturers with a 1830mm wide enrober band for what is probably the world’s largest chocolate enrober.

Flat-Flex® belting can also be produced as a Specialty Belt. When you have a complex product or process that requires special handling such as moving product up steep inclines or down declines, maintaining product separation or keeping product aligned in rows Wire Belt has the answer.

Specialty Belts are custom-designed and manufactured to your exact specifications by our team of experienced engineers. You will have the confidence that you are working with the leading company that has been engineering and manufacturing these types of belt for over 70 years.


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