Our ability to manufacture mini-pitch belts helped Georgia Pacific implement a new design for automated paper towel dispensers. The belts that we delivered were small, but also constructed from strong and durable materials suited for a high volume output. The success of this project has led to the deployment of tens of thousands of towel dispensers, each equipped with BCA’s products.
At the start of this project, our customer expressed a desire to build a compact automatic paper towel dispenser. Typically, these dispensers relied on ratchet gears to advance sheets of paper from a roll. Although effective, the gears were also bulky. Our role was to provide the customer with a belting solution that had the smallest possible footprint.
We solved the problem of size by utilizing mini-pitch timing belts to drive the mechanism. As its name suggests, these belts were very small and featured a very fine pitch. These precision manufactured synchronous timing belts were a perfect fit for this application.
We further improved these belts by manufacturing them from urethane Kevlar. Urethane Kevlar is an extraordinary compound that boasts excellent strength and durability. This insured that the belts would provide improved performance and durability, decreased noise, and increased lifespan of the product compared to the ratchet gear models.
Our mini-pitch belts not only met but exceeded the design requirements set by our customer. They easily fit within a smaller unit, and had the ability to handle repeated use over time. As a result, our unique design has been replicated in automatic paper towel dispensers all over the world. In fact, it’s quite likely that you will see our belts at work the next time you reach your hand out for a sheet.