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Custom U-Belt™ Flexible Connectors: Highly Customizable, Easy to Install, Cost-Efficient, and Durable

15 Jun 2021  |
When FlexCom engineers and designers brainstormed versatile solutions — highly customizable, easy to install, cost efficient — the result was the U-Belt™ flexible connector.

U-Belt™ flexible connectors enhance a wide range of applications, whether used in new installations or for refurbishing and repairs. FlexCom creates U-Belts shapes and sizes custom-made for the application. The all-fabric design makes U-Belt™ custom fabric expansion joints additionally versatile because they are lightweight and therefore easier to install, in any application, compared to heavier varieties of flexible connectors.

U-Belt flexible connectors additionally create cost efficiency in a number of ways. The ease of installation reduces time and labor costs; the ability to mitigate vibration and movement reduces maintenance costs, and their contribution to uptime optimizes the cost-efficiency of the installation as a whole.

Custom U-Belt™ Flexible Connectors: Illustrated Advantages

Take a scenario like installing an expansion joint to connect ductwork to a heavy-duty fan, such as in an industrial air-moving installation. It’s common that the industrial fan is mounted by bolts to a cement pad, and then work follows to connect ductwork to the fixed-position fan. This creates several issues both for the installation project at hand and the long-term maintenance of the installation, issues that are overcome by U-Belt™ flexible connectors.

Easy Installation

Part of the installation is already in a fixed position — the fan bolted to the cement — and so the installation requires other parts accommodating the fixed-position fan. And a U-Belt™ flexible connector is a particularly accommodating part.

Since the U-Belt™ flexible connector can be created in custom shapes and sizes, it inherently accommodates both connection points, the fixed-position fan as well as to the ductwork.

Since the flexible connector is made of all fabric, it’s lightweight, which makes it easier to install compared to heavier flexible connectors. The time, labor, and machinery needed to move, lift and ultimately connect the fan to the U-Belt and the U-Belt to the ductwork will be reduced.

Custom U-Belts™ Contribute To Long-Term Maintenance

An installation with a fixed-position element, such as a bolted fan, limits the ability of the installation to withstand vibration and movement. The fixed-position element is inherently rigid. Without flexible mitigating components, vibration and movement could ultimately lead to damage, loss of uptime and efficiency, and additional maintenance costs.

The installation needs components like the U-Belt™, custom fabric expansion joints that absorb and mitigate vibration and movement, particularly when other pieces can’t. In the scenario of the industrial air moving operation, vibration, in particular, could eventually cause ductwork to become misaligned.  

To prevent misalignment from vibration — or other damage from vibration and movement — the installation needs flexible components, namely U-Belt™ flexible connectors that mitigate damage over time.

Flexible Connectors Promote Cost-Efficiency

Custom U-Belt™ Connectors promote cost-efficiency in a number of ways. The all-fabric, lightweight design, and custom-made fit eases the installation process. The installation now requires less time, labor, and machinery as the U-Belt custom fabric expansion joint is lifted and/or moved into position to connect elements like the fan and ductwork.

Custom U-Belt™ Flexible Connectors also promote cost-efficiency in operations. By providing mitigation from vibration and movement damage that can cause misalignment and other problems, U-Belt™ custom fabric expansion joints help prevent downtime while simultaneously promoting efficiency from the unit in which they’re installed.

Custom U-Belt™ Flexible Connectors also promote cost-efficiency in terms of maintenance by providing the structural flexibility that prevents damage.   

Ideal For Refurbishing And Repairs   

The high customization and ease of installation that make Custom U-Belt™ Connectors ideal for working with fixed-position elements also make the custom fabric expansion joints ideal for refurbishing and repairs. The scenario of the fixed-position fan in an industrial air moving operation illustrated the advantages of custom U-Belts™ in combination with one fixed-position element. In refurbishing and repairs, however, almost everything is a fixed-position element — the machinery is already installed and in place.

The advantages of U-Belt flexible connectors are even more acute in this situation. Their availability in custom sizes and shapes accommodates the existing infrastructure, and the lightweight, all-fabric design makes the custom fabric expansion joints easy to install, again with reduced time, labor, and machinery.

The qualities that make Custom U-Belt™ Flexible Connectors ideal for use with one fixed-position element make the custom fabric expansion joints especially advantageous for refurbishing or repair, which includes many fixed-position elements.

U-Belt™ Flexible Connectors Withstand Vibration and Movement

Custom U-Belt™ Flexible Connectors not only contribute to the durability of the operation in which they’re installed; the custom fabric expansion joints are durable in their own right. FlexCom designed U-Belt™ Flexible Connectors to tolerate pressure loads up to 7 psi and temperatures up to 600°F.  The result is durability, up-time, and cost-effectiveness for the connected parts and the U-Belt™ itself.

Highly Customizable Flexible Connectors, Easy to Install, Cost-Efficient, and Durable

Custom U-Belt™ Flexible Connectors are highly customizable. FlexCom creates them to custom shapes and sizes for ensuring a seamless fit in a wide range of applications. Their lightweight, all-fabric design makes the custom fabric expansion joints easy to install compared to heavier connectors, reducing time, labor, and machinery.

The cost-efficiency of Custom U-Belt™ Flexible Connectors is derived in a number of ways, including in installation, operational efficiency, uptime, and preventing the vibration and movement damage that leads to costly repairs later. The custom fabric expansion joints are ideal when working with fixed-position elements, and especially ideal when working with many or only fixed-position elements, such as in refurbishing and repair.

FlexCom created U-Belt™ Flexible Connectors for customization, ease of installation, cost efficiency, and durability across a wide range of applications.

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Designed in a wide range of shapes and sizes, custom fabric expansion joints from FlexCom mitigate movement and vibration damage in a diverse range industrial installations. Custom fabric expansion joints from FlexCom are created to...

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