EP & ST to PIW Conversions

Introduction
Most of the world (excluding North America) classifies belts with the metric system and ultimate breaking strength. Sometimes the metric system is identified by (SI) which stands for the International System of Units. To further complicate matters, fabric belting is referred to in letters such as EP, PP or other combinations and steel cord belts as ST. In North America P stands for Polyester and N for Nylon. In many other countries the E designation comes from Ethylene glycol used in making the Polyester resins and the P designation comes from Polyamide used in making Nylon resins. So if you wanted an equivalent to a Metric EP belt you would select Poly-Nylon in North American terms or P-N. Metric rated fabric belts are sometimes incorrectly referred to as EP class belts even when they are all nylon or all polyester or some other fabric combination. Besides defining the carcass yarn, the EP designation is different from PIW in two other important ways: 1. 2. EP means breaking strength (Not rating). EP means metric Units (N/mm).

Care must be taken when comparing a North American rated belt against an import (Metric) belt using these letters to designate the yarns. You can see the conflict in acronym definitions of the yarns used in most belt carcasses for either system. Fabric/Carcass Definition Polyester Nylon Poly-Nylon Nylon-Nylon Poly-Poly North American P N PN NN PP Metric E P EP PP EE

Carcass Tension Rating

In North America, the term carcass tension has many definitions but the NIBA version is probably the most appropriate.

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NIBA : "Maximum safe working tension recommended by the manufacturer".

This means the belt manufacturer determines the maximum tension that can be applied to the belt after reviewing the physical properties of the carcass. The tension units are noted as PIW or Pounds Inch Width. In the metric system all tension values are in BREAKING STRENGTH not operating (working) tension. For example, an EP 578 construction is 578 N/mm breaking strength. The operating tension, after converting to metric (assuming a 10:1 safety factor) would be 57.8 N/mm or 330 PIW. Sometimes you see steel cord belt rated in PIW units just like a fabric belt. Most manufacturers of steel cord belting use the worldwide designated ST (Steel) rating system, like the EP designations is in breaking strength (N/mm).

Conversion
To convert from EP to PIW multiply by 5.71 to give breaking strength. This number must then be divided by the Safety Factor (SF) to give the rated belt PIW. This formula can be used for both fabric and steel cord belts. Example 1: Convert a EP 578 to PIW (Assuming 10 SF) (578N/mmx5.71) 10SF Example 2: Convert a 330 PIW to EP (Assuming 10 SF) (330PIWx10SF) 5.71 In General, PIW rated belts can have a safety factor anywhere from 8 to 12 EP rated belts have a safety factor of 10 ST rated belts commonly use 6.67 as a safety factors =578 N/mm =330 PIW

Summary
The safety factor of the belt to be converted can vary widely between manufacturers and can be the lost leader in comparing two belt specs. One should take care to find out what that SF is. If that is not easily found a sample of the belt can be sent to a lab for break testing.

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