Method and device for producing endless drive belts

A device for producing an endless drive belt from preformed members, said members including a compression member belt and a load-carrying member, each member comprising a solid but softenable elastic material, the device comprising:

• a belt-building pulley having a width just matching the width of at least one single compression member belt;
• drive means for rotating said belt-building pulley;
• an idler pulley arranged in alignment with said belt pulley and at a variable center distance therefrom;
• means to adjust said variable center distance to provide an appropriate tension in said compression member belt when mounted between said belt-building pulley and said idler pulley;
• pressurizing means for the application of mutual pressure between said compression member belt and said load-carrying member during winding thereof onto the outer surface of said compression member belt by rotation of said belt-building pulley;
• and
• softening means for selectively softening the surface layers of both said load-carrying member and said compression member belt which are to come into contact with each other during said winding just prior to coming into contact with each other to at least such degree as to allow the material of said surface layers under the applied mutual pressure to fuse and further to allow the turns of said load-carrying member to be at least partially impressed into said surface of said compression member belt.