Belt Drive

A common method of interface between a motor and a mechanism to be driven by the motor. It works a lot like a fan belt in a car. The belt spans the space between the motor and the other mechanism(s), where friction keeps them turning at the same rate while not being “locked” together by something as rigid as a gear. In audio belt driven systems are common for turntables (record players) and certain tape decks, most notably cassette decks. Belt systems do provide a degree of mechanical isolation between the motor and the tape or record. This can be of particular concern in record players where mechanical vibrations are easily picked up by the phonograph cartridge. A properly configured and maintained belt drive system can greatly reduce these noise and vibrations while still providing rotational speed stability at audio frequencies.