Belt drive is one of the typical mechanical transmissions

which is widely applied in machine

automobile

chemical industry and textile industry

etc.The history of research on belt drive is summarized and some present situations are reported

such as products

materials

technologic equipment and theoretical studies of belt drive.Belt drive will develop toward miniaturization

precision and high-speed in the future.Some new transmission belts need to be developed

such as raw edge V-belt

synchronous belt

ribbed V-belt

metal belt for CVT and magnetic complex metal belt.The main problems in the field of belt drives are to develop some advanced manufacturing technology and test equipment.